Nightmare Fuel
by Eaglejewel
Summary: A giant robot has landed outside of Station Square. Join Sonic and the gang as they uncover a villainous plot to take over the world and seek to find a way to stop it. But before they can overcome the newest threat to the world, they must first overcome their own worst nightmares. Will they be able to rise above their fears or will they let the world fall?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places in this story. They all belong to Sega. I hope you enjoy the story**

Chapter 1:

Shadow stood on top of a jutting rock just outside of Station Square, overlooking the barren, rocky wasteland between the city and the Mystic Ruins forest. Only a few minutes ago a huge robot had fallen from space, and the impact had sent it into a huge crater. G.U.N. had immediately contacted him and he and his partner had arrived moments after the robot.

"Well, well, well, this _is_ quite a site. No wonder G. U. N. had to send their best agent to take care of this." Rouge sauntered up to him with her usual sarcastic air and stood next to him. Shadow just continued to stare, ignoring her comment with a smirk. He preferred to always go on missions alone, but, he supposed, if they had to have sent someone with him, he could at least tolerate Rouge, and he could trust her more than anyone else. Still, though, she was quite a handful and she liked to test his patience every chance she got.

The robot was what looked like a huge ball of iron with a smaller dome on top, presumably its head. It was the biggest machine that they had ever seen, much, much larger than any skyscraper or equally massive structure they had ever come across.

Rouge glanced over at Shadow, who just stood there and glared. She gave a small sigh and shook her head. Sometimes she wasn't sure just where that hedgehog's mind really was. But, she could always rely on him when she needed him, and rather enjoyed having him around, even if the conversation was generally one sided. She could always count on him to have the whole mysterious thing going on, though, so it was up to her to bring him back down to earth. After all they had a job to do, so it was time to do it.

"This _is_ a very interesting view, isn't it, "she said, slightly annoyed. "I guess we could look at it from here all day, or we could go and take a closer look." Shadow blinked and unfolded his arms, glancing slightly over at her

"Hmph, if you insist. Try to keep up." With that he went racing off towards the crater, leaving Rouge behind in a cloud of dust.

"Hey, you know you can't do this without me," she called. But she knew he was already long gone. She gave an exasperated sigh and took the sky, determined not to let him get too far ahead.

Shadow raced along the rocky, dusty terrain. Running at just half speed, he was still traversing the wasteland at an incredible pace. The ground was leading him slightly downhill the whole way, and as he approached the machine, the larger it became. Shadow, though, not intimidated, grew slightly worried as he got closer. This robot was truly an amazing piece of machinery, though he still could not determine its purpose or intentions.

After running around it several times, Shadow stopped abruptly at the craters steep edge and glared up at it. He decided that he would let Rouge gain some ground while he continued to study it. _That's strange,_ he thought. _As far as I can see, there's no openings or hatches. If someone is inside that thing, they must've been sealed in as it was being made._

All of a sudden, a loud, screeching noise emanated from the robot, so loud and piercing that Shadow was driven to his knees, his skull about to break open. He couldn't take this much longer, even only after a few seconds he could feel his consciousness slipping away. With every ounce of energy he had left he struggled to pull his Chaos Emerald out. The yellow gem glowed faintly in his hand, waiting for him to call upon its power.

"Chaos…Control." Shadow felt the familiar electrical rush of energy wash over his body, his skin tingling with the sudden outburst of power. One moment he was at the very base of the iron giant, the next he was back where he had started the mission.

It took several minutes for him to muster up the strength to even stand. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so much pain, the pounding in his head still drumming away at his conscious. _Have to think, have to move, can't give in._ He rose slowly to his knees, still doubled over, holding his head. How long had it been? He had to focus and complete the mission. He opened one eye, blurry spots dancing before his vision, but he could still see enough to notice the robot moving in the distance. The screeching was still audible from this distance, but the effects were considerably less.

Shadow finally was able to stand and regain his awareness. He looked around him, expecting to see…Rouge!

"Where is she?" He looked in the distance, but she could have been anywhere, especially if she had fallen from the sky. He knew that her hearing was far more acute than his, and even from this distance she would have been reeling.

Shadow raced off, this time at full speed, frantically searching for his no doubt unconscious partner.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Hey, yeah, now this is nice." Sonic lay against a tree by a little clearing in the Mystic Ruins forest. "It feels good to have a slow day every once in a while." He chuckled at the word _slow._ After all, he was the world's fastest hedgehog. But it did feel good to relax for a change, just chilling out under the warm sun.

No sign of Amy today, and Tails was busy test flying in the Tornado, a new engine or transformation or something that he had been working on for a while. Sonic shrugged and smiled. His little buddy was always working on ways to improve his inventions, but especially the Tornado. He was pretty sure that, besides him, that plane was Tails' best friend. He shook his head and smiled again.

Sonic looked up at the sky and thought about what he should do with the rest of the day. After all, he couldn't sit still for ever. He might visit Angel Island in a bit, a quick jog from here, and maybe run into a certain knucklehead. He laughed at that, thinking up ways to get on Knuckles' nerves, in a friendly sort of way, of course.

Sonic hopped to his feet and stretched. "Look out Knuckles, here I come." But before he had even turned in the direction of Angel Island, a high, piercing, screeching noise broke the afternoon silence. His hands flew to his ears. "Argh, what is that?"

It was coming from behind him, towards Station Square he guessed. Though not unbearable, it was enough of a fingernail-on-chalkboard sound to send shivers down his spines. Even so, he had to see where it was coming from, a sense of danger creeping up on him like a fog.

In the blink of an eye, Sonic sped off towards the city, arriving at the edge of the forest in seconds. As soon as he burst through the last of the trees, he came to a sliding halt. "Now that's a big tin can." A huge robot, roughly halfway between the forest and the city, sat in a wide crater in the rocks. It looked as if it must've fallen from some kind of a flying fortress, or maybe even from space. And it wasn't just sitting still either.

What looked like four massive iron legs began to emerge from its center, spaced evenly around its round body. They reminded him of an accordion, with multiple sections that allowed for bending and moving, each with a massive four fingered claw on the end. The legs came out surprisingly fast, and they plummeted there claws into the ground with tremendous force, pushing the metallic body off of the ground. It rose to staggering heights, looming over the earth with its menacing presence.

"A giant octopus, huh? Ahn, I've seen worse. Though you are the biggest tin can I've seen in a while. Next time let me know you're here and I'll get you some oil for those rusty parts." The screeching had finally stopped once the legs were fully out, and the metallic monster just loomed over him in silence. The head was the only thing moving, slowly rotating in a full circle, as if surveying the land.

Sonic decided it was finally time to get a closer look. He ran at half speed, angling slightly away from the robot so he could circle around it while keeping his distance. Nothing he could see on the body looked like a weak point, so maybe the legs would be a good starting point. If the robot was hostile, he would need a quick way to take down such a huge beast.

Sonic zipped past the right side and stopped on a nearby rocky platform, still a good distance from the robot. He looked around, getting the scope of the land and the robot, when he saw something in the distance. A small, shadowy lump in the direction of the city, almost underneath the shadow of a jutting rock. He raced over to it and, as he blazed towards it, he could clearly see the shape of a body in front of him. One that he recognized.

"Rouge," he gasped. "Hey, are you alright?" She was unconscious and barely breathing. He scooped her up in his arms and ran at full speed towards the city. He had to get her to safety and to a hospital. _The noise, she must've been to close._

He hadn't gotten far when he sensed movement behind him. Sonic turned just in time to see a yellow blast of energy racing towards him. The bolt was deadly accurate and it raced towards Sonic and Rouge like lightning. Two more fired a split second later, one to the right and one to the left, making a quick sidestep useless. The usually quick witted hedgehog had only milliseconds to react.

He decided to go at super sonic speed to escape the blast. But he was unsure what that would do to Rouge, especially in her current state, and so he hesitated one second to long. He braced for the impact, but never felt it. Instead, a huge explosion blasted behind them, the shockwaves sending them tumbling along the ground.

When Sonic finally stopped rolling, he jumped to his feet and looked back where the explosion had been. After the smoke and dust cleared, he was only slightly surprised to see Shadow standing there and glaring at him. But only briefly. Shadow rushed over to where Rouge had fallen and stooped down next to her.

"Rouge, can you hear me?" his voice only slightly betraying any concern. She moaned a little and then struggled to open her eyes. "I'm taking you off of this mission. I'll drop you off at headquarters so you can recover, but leave this one to me." Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emarald and prepared to transport them back to the city, but Rouge suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Don't even think about it," she warned, her voice a little shaky. "You know I never quit a mission, unless there's a jewel involved. Just give me a minute to get this ringing out of my head. Any closer and I'd have been deaf for sure." She sat up and rubbed her head.

"Fine, but this is the only second chance you get." Shadow stood back up and looked back at the robot. "Those blasts came from canons on the upper half of the body. Smaller blasters also emerged along the lower rim. It seems that this robot was built for mass destruction."

Sonic shrugged. "Well, lucky for us, so were you. Nice job stopping those energy bolts back there. I guess we should look for a way to stop it before it starts firing all those guns at us." Shadow just glared, clearly annoyed by the being-made-for-mass-destruction comment. "Well, let's get started. I'll take the left, you take the right. This thing's so big we probably wont see each other unless we meet in the middle."

"Hold on a second, boys," Rouge protested. "You two can't just go racing off without me. I'm the senior agent here. This is my mission, so you two don't even think about leaving until I say so." Sonic glanced at Shadow, who just rolled his eyes and huffed his annoyance. He laughed to himself. These two were just perfect for each other.

"Fine, have it your way. What's the plan then, oh great secret agent?" But before Rouge could retort, they all heard the sound of a small motor above their heads. Looking up, they saw a familiar blue plane flying towards the robot. Twin lines of blaster bullets began raining down from above, striking the massive head of the metal giant. Missiles launched from the Tornado and spiraled in with devastating force. But it seemed to have no effect on the robot.

Tails tried another barrage, but to the same end. Nothing his small plane had would be of much use. He needed to analyze its metal shell and look for weak points that him and Sonic could exploit. He was just about to turn around when the head started spinning rapidly in his direction.

"Oh no." Tails had to get away fast. He had just seen the energy bolts fired from the canons, and knew that the Tornado would burn in seconds. "Time to switch to Hyper Mode." Tails quickly punched in a series of numbers on his control pad and then pulled the red lever near his feet. A series of quick transformations took place, and the Tornado turned into the Hyper Tornado, possibly his fastest transformation yet.

In moments, Tails went from casual to hyper speed, going so fast towards the city that he nearly blew out of the plane. "I really need to install seat belts!" he screamed, the wind drowning him out. Unfortunately, Hyper Mode could only go at full speed for a brief time before he had to convert back to his normal engine. So to preserve energy he would have to transform back and then he could land next to Sonic and they could come up with a plan together.

Sonic watched Tails zoom away towards the city, admiring just how fast that kid could get a plane to go. After he saw the head spin towards Tails, he was just about to race off to help, when the Tornado transformed in the blink of an eye and Tails sped away. Then, as Sonic looked back at the robot, the head was now pointing directly at them, and a red laser been shot down from its slotted eye, engulfing the three of them faster then thought possible. Sonic's, Shadow's, and Rouge's world went red.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Red. All Sonic could see was a blinding red light. He threw his hands up in front of his eyes, trying to block out the eerie redness. It was a cold, clingy sort of feeling, and Sonic suddenly felt alone. All alone. Shadow and Rouge were no longer with him, only the red light. A deep depression suddenly came over him. He had to get away, but he somehow couldn't move, and that scared him.

All of a sudden the red light fizzled out, and he was standing in total darkness. Looking frantically around for the least bit of light, Sonic could only force himself to go at a snail's pace. A frantic, unsettling feeling rose up inside of him. He had never been so alone, or so slow, in his life. This depression, this utter loneliness, threatened to consume him.

Then, out of no where, a torrent of rapidly moving water swept over him, dragging him off in its unstoppable current. "No, help!" Sonic felt himself being submerged and tossed wildly about, completely at the will of the river. Its black depths threatened to drown him, and he was helpless to do anything.

Forever passed, and still Sonic was being swept away by the unforgiving current. When all hope was lost to him, he felt himself falling over the edge, endlessly falling until he crashed into a still black pool. Sonic frantically clawed at the water until he felt something solid under his feet. He stood and scrambled onto the shore, collapsing and gasping wildly for air.

Half drowned, Sonic slowly looked up at his surroundings. It was dark in this place, but not pitch black like before. A faint, grey light eerily shown down, but from where he couldn't tell. There was nothing as far as the eye could see, and the depressed feelings consumed him.

"Hello, please, somebody," he feebly called, dropping to his knees.

"Sonic."

Sonic look up but saw no one. "Tails, is that you? Please answer me!" The mist in front of him began to swirl, and the faint outline of a two tailed fox slowly appeared. "Tails!" Sonic scrambled to his feet and walk as fast as he could towards his friend, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Tails' face.

"Sonic, why didn't you save us? Save me? I trusted you, and you still let me die."

Sonic was horrified at what he saw. Tails loomed in front of him, his blue eyes cold and lifeless. Blood poured from a number of wounds on his body, and he pointed accusingly at Sonic, like a judge whose verdict was guilty.

Then other figures formed in the mist behind tails. Ghostly, bloody figures, all pointing at him with judgment. Amy, Cream, Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge. Then they all began to chant "You let us die" slowly and coldly. Sonic fell to his knees and held his head.

"No, I didn't! I tried to save you! Stop!" he wailed. And then, when the guilt and the heartache overtook the very sinews of his heart, Sonic felt himself falling and falling and falling.

Shadow's vision was suddenly filled with the blinding red of the beam, its eerie scarlet rays consuming everything around him. A cold, otherworldly feeling crept along his skin, penetrating deep into his soul. He cracked his eyes open, but he could see nothing. Sonic and Rouge had disappeared into the redness, leaving him totally alone. And not just the usual aloneness he always felt. Shadow was utterly alone, and it unnerved him, much to his surprise.

After an eternity, the beam finally blinked out, leaving Shadow in an eerie gray half light, the source of witch he could not find. A misty fog swirled about him, the coldness clinging to the very fabric of his being, threatening to pierce so deep that he would never be able to break free. He dropped to his knees, shivering in the dark, berating himself for succumbing so quickly. After all, this was a feeling he lived with daily, and he had always managed to keep it deep inside, not willing to show any emotional weakness. But now all of those lonely and angry emotions came rising up, consuming his thoughts, no matter how he tried to keep them at bay.

"Shadow."

Shadow looked up and saw a figure swirling in the mist before him, clouded in shadows. "Who's there? Show yourself." He stood up, readying himself to face this mystic stranger. He knew he could take them, he had never met any opponent that he could not defeat.

"Shadow, I miss you so much. If only you could have saved me, we could have made the world a better place together."

Suddenly Shadow's heart went cold. "Maria?" The mist suddenly cleared, revealing a little, blonde haired girl standing before him. Her cold, deeply disappointed stare sent knives into his soul. "Maria," he whispered, "I wasn't strong enough, I tried to save you. Why didn't you escape without me? Why did you have to die for me?"

Maria slowly, eerily moved towards him until she stood mere inches from him. Tears ran down her pale face, and her lips quivered. Then a gun shot suddenly fired somewhere from behind her, and her face twisted in pain. She collapsed at Shadow's feet.

"No!" Shadow screamed. He knelt beside her and cradled her limp form. His tears fell onto her, bringing with them the sorrow and regret that he had tried so desperately to forget. "Maria! Please don't leave me again! You were my only friend, the only one was not afraid of me. You looked on me with kindness, even when I didn't deserve it. Because of me you lost your life. You were the one who gave me a soul, who believed in me! Maria, don't go!"

Nothing he said brought forth a response from the little girl in his arms. She was already gone. Shadow held her tight, weeping uncontrollably. All of a sudden, her body vanished from his arms, leaving only her blood on his hands. "No!" Deep, enraging agony consumed every fiber of his being, pulsing with such force that pure blasts of energy burst forth all around him, his Chaos Spear sending shock waves throughout the cold mist. They streaked around him, wildly striking about, there electric pulse feeling the air. The sense of utter sorrow and heart aching loneliness rose up inside of him, gripping his very core with agony.

When he finally had no energy left, the energy bolts fizzled out, and a deep, consuming cold spread over him. He dropped to his knees, completely dead inside.

"Shadow."

Shadow could barely raise his head to look towards the voice. Another figure was there, waiting for his response. "Who are you?" he muttered, no life left in his voice.

The figure stepped forward, revealing his creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik.

"Shadow, you disappoint me. This is not how a mere weapon should act. You fool yourself to believe you are anything more, that you have a soul. I created you as I would a machine. You have no other purpose than that."

"No, that's not true," Shadow whispered. "You gave me a soul, Maria's soul. I have to have a soul."

"No Shadow. You are nothing more than a biological weapon, designed only for mass destruction. You cannot possibly have a soul, especially that of my granddaughter. Don't lie to yourself any longer."

The darkness inside of him seized a hold of his inmost being, and Shadow felt himself falling and falling and falling.

Rouge threw her hands in front of her eyes, shielding them from the scarlet onslaught. Everything vanished in the sea of red, and the air around her grew cold and clingy. She wrapped her arms around her and shivered. Shadow and Sonic were gone, leaving her all alone in the blinding light. Totally alone. Rouge shivered again, but this time not from the cold.

The beam suddenly blinked out, leaving her in total darkness. She felt uncharacteristically worried and panicky, and she berated herself for letting her guard down. "Just breathe. That's it, get a grip. You're a seasoned agent, so start acting like one." After all, she was not totally helpless in the dark. She could see well enough around her to find that there was, well, nothing. Just cold and swirling mist in every direction.

Panic once again rose up inside her, but she was determined to keep it down. If she took to the sky, she would be able to see more, and that reassured her slightly. Up she climbed, rising higher and higher, every flap of her wings sending the mist dancing about her. Up and up she flew, but for all the effort she put into it, she did not feel herself rising any higher. The ground was still mere feet away from her, and she desperately flapped faster and faster, until she collapsed, exhausted, to the ground. Rouge put her hands on her knees and panted for several seconds.

"Rouge."

Rouge jolted in the direction of the voice. "Who's there? I'm warning you, you'd better show yourself." A misty figure stood in front of her. She couldn't make out who it was, and that unnerved her. Why was this person obscured from her vision when her immediate surroundings weren't?

"Rouge, you disappoint me. My most trusted and skilled agent, and you can't even fly away, can't even rescue yourself." The comment cut her to the quick, her emotions never being triggered so easily, and she wasn't quite sure how to cope with it.

The figure emerged from the darkness, revealing her commanding officer. He held in his hand a glowing jewel, white and radiant, its beams lighting up the entire area with its dazzling light. In spite of the situation, Rouge couldn't help but stare, transfixed on such a luminous gem.

"I'm sorry, Rouge, truly sorry, but you are no longer qualified as an agent. You have constantly shown a lack of skill, and you have been known to fail your missions at the mere sight of a jewel." He paused, holding the gem aloft for effect. "Your fellow agents despise your indifferent and sarcastic arrogance, and I can no longer trust you with any task." He turned and walked slowly over to deep, black chasm. Rouge felt tears sting her eyes, unable to force them back. Never had anyone hurt her like this before. She felt alone and betrayed, her heart breaking in anguish.

The general stopped at the edge of the chasm, and glanced back at her with a disapproving glare. Then, he tossed the vibrant gem into the depths, shaking his head at her horrified expression. "No! How could you? That was a perfect gem!" She rushed to the edge and watched the little white light fade away, her own light fading away with it. It had seemed that that gem was a reflection of her soul, and as it fell, she felt that her soul fell with it, vanishing into the depths.

The general watched her sob at the loss, before suddenly vanishing from existence. Rouge fell to her knees, her hands on her aching heart, her tears falling after her lost soul. Suddenly, she felt a looming presence behind her. Startled, she quickly stood and spun around, reading herself for anything.

Rouge sighed in relief. "Shadow, it's you. Where have you been?" But Shadow did not reply. He merely stood in front of her, casting a menacing glare. Rouge, who had been glad to see him moments before, now felt very uneasy, even frightened of him now.

"Shadow?" She backed slightly away from him. Why wouldn't he answer? He had always been the mysterious and silent type, but now he loomed before her, a total stranger, his eyes burning with cold fury.

Shadow slowly moved towards her, but she backed away from him until she was at the edge of the chasm. He stood mere inches from her, betraying no sense of familiarity about him.

"You've let me down for the last time, Rouge," he growled, his voice low and laced with anger. "I've learned the hard way that you cannot be trusted. You are cold and uncaring, and I don't need you anymore. You will be alone for the rest of you life without me, and you deserve it. No one else will ever befriend you, no one else will ever tolerate you. You will be left all alone, and I will not come for you. No one will."

Rouge felt betrayed. Hot tears sprung to her eyes and she sobbed uncontrollably. Shadow turned and walked away, not once glancing back, leaving her to cry pools of anguish all alone. Shadow was right. If he was gone, she truly would be friendless. Nobody else was so close to her as Shadow. Nobody else understood her the way he did. She sunk to her knees, completely abandoning all hope, so deeply hurt that her body shook with sorrow. She held herself tight, weeping and afraid, and then she was falling and falling and falling.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"SoooOOoonnNnNnnniiIiIiCccc!" A voice, distant and eerily familiar. Sonic could not open his eyes. He tried to shake himself awake, but the nightmare persisted, and he could not move. "SsooOonnnNiiiIiccCc!" He felt something grab ahold of him, shaking him slightly. Who was there, trying to wake him?

"Sonic!"

His eyes finally snapped open, and he startled awake. Blinking fiercely he looked about him, still in a daze. Tails knelt beside him, a worried expression on his face. "Tails? What…what just happened?"

"That robot shot at you with some kind of red beam, but it doesn't seem to have affected you much. I got here only moments later, but you and the others were unconscious for some reason, and I couldn't wake you. What happened?"

Sonic put his hand on his head, trying to focus. "I had some kind of dream. No, a nightmare. It felt so real, like my worst fears coming true. I was completely trapped." He stood up slowly, breathing deeply to calm himself. The affects of the dream still lingered about him, the lonely and terrified feelings clinging close to his soul. Would they ever go away? He knew that they were not real, but still, he could not bring himself to look at Tails, fearing that he would not be able to protect his best friend anymore.

"I still can't wake up Shadow and Rouge. I hope that they'll be ok. But we have to get away from here. We're too close to the robot, and I haven't been able to analyze it to tell how to defeat it. We can use the Tornado." Tails tried to talk to him, but something was wrong with Sonic. He had never seemed so distressed or distant. Just what had happened during those moments of fearful sleep? "Sonic?"

"Yeah, you're right Tails. Let's get Shadow and Rouge to the Tornado, then you can fly them back to the city, and I'll handle this monster myself."

"Umm, ok. But after they're safe, I'm coming back to help. I won't let you down." Sonic knew that Tails wouldn't let him down. He feared that he would let Tails down. He had to keep him away from the fight.

Just as they were about to move there fallen comrades, the two suddenly stirred from there dreams. Rouge shot up abruptly, a startled cry escaping her lips. "Wait, don't go," she pleaded. Then she blinked and looked around, shaking her head. "What happened? Where's Shadow?"

"Calm down, Rouge. You're alright now. We're all still here." Sonic motioned over to Shadow, who was just now getting up. His expression was a mixture between confusion and pain, which he quickly changed back into his usual cold glare.

"We have to stop this machine before it uses that beam again," he said with absolute certainty. "It is clearly capable of making us realize our worst fears. If it reaches the city, they will not be able to escape and will be completely at its mercy." Stinging pains of guilt rippled through his mind, leftover affects from his own nightmare. He tried to brush them aside, but they lingered about him, and he felt more twisted and riddled with grief than he ever had. But, he was sure that he could cope with it, he had to ignore it, just like he always had, pushing his emotions so far down, that he would feel nothing at all.

"Wait, Shadow," Rouge protested. "How do you know that's what happened? How do you know that its target is the city?" But she felt far less confident voicing her opinions then she had ever had. Shadow's cold stare did little to improve her mood, and she was convinced that he was more cold and distant to her than ever. _Oh, stop. Get a grip. Nothing has change. It was only a nightmare._ But she failed to reassure herself, and she merely stared at the ground, defeated by her own fears.

Shadow crossed his arms, and turned to face the robot. "See for yourself. It's turning for the city now. We all had those nightmares after the beam hit. Obviously, the robot was responsible." Just as Shadow said, the robot's towering form began to advance towards the city. Very slowly, each giant leg carried the beast towards its target. "We have to act now."

Shadow, wait," Tails argued. "I haven't had a chance to examine it yet. We don't know how to stop it. If I can get close enough, the scanners on the Tornado should be able to tell us how to stop it. But," he trailed off, staring at his feet.

"But what, buddy," Sonic prodded.

Tails scratched his head. "Well, all of the power in the Tornado is currently wired into Hyper Mode. All of the energy is hooked up to the engine, even in its regular form. I'll have to get extremely close to the robot for my scanners to work."

"Do you think you can get close enough, with all the guns and cannons on that thing it takes war of the worlds to a whole knew level," Rouge said, concerned.

"Yeah, Tails, I'm with Rouge. It'll be impossible. We'll have to try a touch and go approach instead." Sonic was relived, in an empty sort of way, that the idea couldn't work. Maybe Tails would stay at a safe distance this time.

"Impossible or not, we have to try it. We're running out of time. We three will distract it so you can get in close enough. We have to act now." On the word "now", Shadow sped away towards the robot, which had just now reached the top of the crater.

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled. But it was too late. He looked back at Rouge and Tails, who were nodding in agreement. They had apparently sided with Shadow.

"Alright, kid. Make it quick, I've got better things to do with the rest of my day, like finding some delightful treasure." Rouge then took off, and flew fast after Shadow.

"Tails, you're sure this is a good idea? You must have a better way to scan this thing."

"Sorry Sonic, but I hadn't counted on being invaded by giant robots today. All I've got are my short range scanners. I can do this, it'll be easy." Tails turned and raced off, hopping into his plane and starting up the engines.

Sonic watched him take off and sighed. _Get a hold of yourself. This is nothing. Tails can handle himself. You're awake now, the nightmare's over. Come on Sonic, let's do this._ He raced off to join the battle.

Shadow and Rouge had already gotten its attention, and yellow laser blaster rays flew everywhere. Thankfully, the canons seemed to be long range weapons, so at least they were safe from those. Shadow dodged blast after blast, fast approaching one of the legs. He jumped up and used his spin attack to propel himself up the leg.

The heavy fire around him, though, prevented him from advancing very far, narrowly avoiding bullet after bullet. He landed back at its foot and summoned a tremendous blast of his own, Chaos Spear firing from his fingertips, rising up the leg and striking the guns it came in contact with. Shadow grinned, five or more guns exploding.

But his triumph was short lived. The destroyed guns were immediately replaced by more, seemingly materializing onto the surface. Shadow growled and fired another round of energy, but this time they were deflected by the new onslaught of weaponry. He side stepped away, still close enough to feel the energy racing into the air after striking where he had stood seconds before.

Shadow looked up, trying to find the Tornado, wondering just how long Tails was going to take. He could see the small plane beginning to make its way around to the back side of the robot, not flying anywhere near the head. _I've got to keep it focused away from the Tornado. I'll have to give it something else to see. It must have a sensor in its eye. If I can make it up there, then I can keep it pointed away from Tails._ Shadow had to get up to the top of the robot, but the heavy fire all around him would make it difficult. Regardless, time was running out, and he had to find some way up there, and fast.

On the other side of the robot, Rouge flew low, expertly avoiding the barrage of laser blasts. She executed stunning evasive skills, landing briefly at times to perform a series of round offs and hand springs, making her way as close to the metallic leg in front of her as she could. If she could reach the leg, then she could fly up it, using it as a shield to reach the first row of guns, and then take them out.

Reaching the leg, Rouge began a vertical assent, staying as close to the outside of the leg, nearly skimming the metal as bullets narrowly missed her, feeling the heat of them as she made her way up. Rouge saw that the moment was fast approaching when she would have to veer off from the safety of the leg, and she readied herself for attack.

With the first few guns nearly even with her, she made a sudden turn, spinning into her screw kick with lightning speed. The row of guns exploded in quick succession, her flawless attack destroying the whole segment, at least ten guns exploding behind her as she veered off and looked quickly back at her handiwork.

But, when the last destroyed pieces had fallen off, new guns, almost instantly, formed to replace them. Rouge was caught off guard, taking an instant too long to avoid the new barrage, and scrambled to get away, but there was just too many bullets coming at her, and she was completely off balance.

Rouge screamed in pain, a blaster bullet striking her left wing, and she began falling rapidly towards the ground. If she survived the landing, then the volley of raging bullets would surely do her in. She fell and fell, the ground fast approaching, and there was nothing she could do to stop herself. She held her hands in front of her face, as much to shield her from the impact as to avoid seeing it.

Suddenly, something slammed into her, and she was sent tumbling into a landing towards the leg, rolling for a long ways which helped break her fall. Rouge was not completely unconscious, but she could not focus on anything, only swirling images flashing before her eyes. She felt herself being lifted, and then she was being carried fast away, the ringing bullets pounding in her ears.

The next thing she knew, she was sitting with her back against a huge rock, sheltering her from the robots attacks, for the moment at least. She blinked and looked up at her rescuer. "Oh no, it's you."

Indignant, Knuckles crossed his arms and huffed. "I'm not too happy about seeing you either, you know. Next time I'll just let you fall."

In spite of herself, Rouge smiled. That irritating echidna had a nasty habit of showing up in the middle of a skirmish. "Now, now, don't get so sensitive. I would have made it on my own, but thanks anyway for your attempted heroism. I think it was a rather charming thing to do." Knuckles' faced flushed with exasperation.

"What do you mean 'attempted heroism'?" he fumed. "I just saved your life! There's no way in this world that you can deny that! "

"Alright, alright, you win. Just stop all that yelling already." Rouge stood shakily to her feet and glanced around the rock. The robot's guns were spaced just far enough apart to miss there hiding place. But even the slightest turn would send them into heavy fire. She turned back to Knuckles. "So, what are you doing here, besides vying for my affections?"

"Vying for? – You must be crazy!" Knuckles clenched his fists, waving his hand in her face. "Of all the insane ideas!" He turned abruptly away and began to stomp off.

"Oh come on, please tell me why you're here. Maybe we can help each other, hmm? What do you say?" Rouge knew she could get him to do anything. And, truthfully, she knew that he would be a big help against that robot, so she needed him to calm down a little.

Knuckles halted, rather begrudgingly, and crossed his arms. "Fine. I saw this thing fall from the sky, so I decided to investigate. Lucky for you, "he added with a rather smug glance back at her. Then he looked around the rock, and strained to see something at the far side of the robot. "Hey, isn't that the Tornado? What's Tails doing, anyway, and where is Sonic?"

Rouge quickly filled him in, and he cracked his knuckles. "Alright, just leave it to me. One distraction, coming right up." He gave her a smug little smile. "Try to keep out of trouble this time." Rouge crossed her arms and smirked.

"Hmph. You're the only trouble maker around here," she called as he ran off towards the robot. "As soon as my wing recovers, you'll see just how much I don't need your help!"

Knuckles snickered as he ran, pleased with himself. He always enjoyed getting on that bat's nerves. A volley of blaster bullets met him as he advanced towards one of the legs. He dodged the blasts skillfully, charging on ahead into the fire, never slowing his attack. He bulldozed into the leg, punching it with such force, that the vibrations rattled the air around him. He continued to bludgeon the leg with lightning fast and brutal punches, grunting from the effort. _This should get its attention_.

Knuckles paused for a moment to examine the damage he must of caused, but only a slight dent was all he had to show for his effort. He let out an exasperated huff, tearing into the robotic leg with renewed fury.

Suddenly, the ground shook next to him, and smoke rose from a large gash in the ground only feet away. "I guess I got its attention." Some of the canons above him had elongated, their barrels poised to take aim at him. Knuckles growled, not tampered by this new obstacle. He sunk his fists deep into the leg, and began climbing at a furious pace, reaching the row of guns and leaping off to smash them. He took them down with brutish force, and then glided down to the ground, a pile of broken metal landing after him.

"That should do it," he bragged, brushing his hands together. But looking up, he saw that his assault had been rendered pointless, new guns appearing to take the broken one's place. "What!?" Knuckles clenched his fists, glaring up at the new guns in a rage of disbelief.

"Pesky, isn't it?" Knuckles whirled around, not surprised in the least to see Sonic there. "I mean, you destroy them, and they just keep coming back. But there's gotta be a limit. We just gotta keep breaking them up, and eventually they'll run out. What'dya say, buddy?"

Knuckles smirked. "I suppose that's logical. Tails had better hurry up, though. We can't keep this up all day if our attacks are pointless. I just barely dented that leg, and I gave it all I got." He paused for a moment, and then felt his temper rising. "And don't call me 'buddy'!"

Sonic snickered. "Whatever you say, Knuckster." Then his voice changed to a more urgent tone. "Just keep up the attack, and stay away from the laser at the head. Trust me, you don't want to get hit."

With that, Sonic sped away into the barrage of laser fire, circling around the robot until he located Tails. The little plane had finally reached the back of the machine, and was now going in for the scan. "Come on, buddy. You can do it." Sonic watched him expertly dodging all of the smaller bullets near the center, going in uncomfortably close to the robot. The Tornado's little scanning ray finally came on, illuminating the iron shell with a bright red light.

Sonic leaped up and used his Homing Attack to jump from gun to gun, clearing dozens of them. He didn't bother looking back, knowing that new ones had already materialized and were already firing at him. Sonic raced off, finding a good point well away from the robot to analyze the situation. He could see Knuckles hammering away at one of the legs, and Rouge was above him attacking the guns on the middle row. A huge yellow blast of energy fired at the far side, and Sonic guessed that Shadow had just loosed some of his Chaos powers on the robot.

Sonic sighed. None of this would matter until Tails had found a weak spot. He looked up at the head, which was still pointing at the city. Maybe he could try a direct attack on the eye. That would keep it occupied, and just might be the weak point they needed.

He watched as Tails had finally stopped scanning, and began to fly away towards the forest. Sonic sighed in relief. "Phew. Good Job Tails. Let's see what you found." He was just about to run to the forest, when the giant head suddenly whipped around, its red beam blasting full force. Sonic looked in horror as the small plane was illuminated in its eerie ray.

"Tails!" Sonic raced towards his little buddy, knowing that he was now unconscious, suffering from an onslaught of nightmares. He had to reach him before it was too late. The plane could crash at any minute. "Hang on, Tails! Hang on!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Hurry up, Cream! Sonics' waiting!" Amy looked back at her friend but did not slow her pace. She marched on, determined not to let Sonic get away from her. Cream scrambled along behind her trying to catch up.

"Wait up Amy! Please slow down!"

"Chao, chao," Cheese panted in agreement.

"Oh, alright!" Amy stopped and crossed her arms impatiently. Ever since she had heard that weird screeching noise, she knew exactly where she would find Sonic. He would be there, wherever 'there' was, waiting for her. She just knew it. She had an uncanny ability to track him down; no matter where he was she could always find him.

Cream finally caught up to her, putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Cheese landed beside her and fell on his back, exhausted. "But, Amy, how do you know Sonic will be there? We don't even know where we're going." Amy turned and gave her that I've-never-been-more-sure-in-my-life look, causing Cream to quickly change her mind. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure your right. I'm sure Sonic will be there."

Amy started marching forward again, though she kept her pace a little slower this time. She got that glassy eyed look again, clasping her hands to her heart and sighing. "Just think, Cream, somewhere close by, Sonic is waiting for me. I'll find him, and when I do, he'll be overjoyed to see me. And if he's in some sort of danger, I'll help him destroy it and he can take me out for ice cream to celebrate."

Cream laughed timidly in agreement. "Yeah, Amy, whatever you say." She didn't think it would be wise to tell Amy that she might be wrong. Once she started daydreaming about Sonic, there was no point in trying to deter her. Cream sighed. Only a few minutes ago they had been having a nice little picnic in the Mystic Ruins forest, next to a beautiful waterfall. They were going to spend all day playing in the water and relaxing, but then they had heard a strange, metallic noise, and their girls' day out was over. Amy was sure that she knew where Sonic was, and that was the end of it. There was no stopping her.

They had been walking for around half an hour, taking occasional rest stops, mostly for Cream's sake. Amy felt like running a marathon if it meant seeing Sonic again. It had been, like, a whole week since she saw him last, but now she knew where he was, and he wasn't getting away from her this time.

The end of the forest was just ahead, and Amy sped up, knowing that she would be able to see what had caused the noise coming from the wasteland. "Hang on, Sonic! I'm almost there!" she cheered as she burst out of the forest. But she abruptly stopped in her tracks, taking in the scene before her.

A huge, octopus-like robot was slowly heading towards Station Square, hundreds of guns blazing from all around its body. Amy strained to see, thinking she had seen a few small explosions near the bottom row of guns. Sonic must be over there, trying to destroy the guns. He needed her help.

Cream burst through the forest and gasped, stopping beside her. "Amy, we should get out of here. That is the biggest robot I've ever seen!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese grabbed a hold of Cream, hiding behind her. But Amy had already summoned her hammer, and gave Cream a determined look.

"I have to help Sonic!" Then she raced off towards the robot, not looking back.

Cream shook with fear, but she couldn't let Amy go off alone. "Wait, Amy!" she called, running after her. She had always admired Amy's bravery, but this time she wasn't sure if it wasn't insanity. They wouldn't be able to do anything to that robot, so Cream hoped they would find Sonic soon, and he would make Amy leave.

Amy suddenly stopped, looking up to the right. A small plane was flying away from the robot, towards the forest. It had to be the Tornado. _So Tails is here too?_ Cream stopped beside her, also looking towards the small plane. She looked back to the robot and gasped in horror.

"Oh, no! Look!" Cream pointed to the robot, its head suddenly spinning around, and a red laser beam fired upon the Tornado. The little plane was engulfed in the light, but didn't seem to be physically damaged. Then it began flying in an irregular manner, abruptly making a steep descent towards the ground.

"Tails!" they screamed as they watched him spiraling down. Amy was about to start running towards him, when Cream grabbed her arm and started pulling her away with urgency. "Amy, run!" But it was too late. The giant head had already angled towards them, and they were instantly consumed in the scarlet rays.

Amy screamed, throwing her hands up to shield herself. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel a wave of pain wash over her. But nothing happened. She slowly lowered her hands, her vision filled with the red light. The temperature had dropped considerably, and she shivered. Cream and Cheese had vanished, leaving her totally alone.

The light suddenly dissipated, and she was now in total darkness, nothing but the clinging cold to keep her company. "Cream? Cheese?" she called in a panicked voiced. Nothing but silence answered her. "Sonic!" she wailed, dropping to her knees. She began to sob, the total and absolute loneliness consuming her. Amy felt it penetrate deep into her soul, whispering to her that she was, and had always been, alone.

A chill gust of wind suddenly blew, intensifying the cold. Startled, Amy looked up, holding herself tight. The darkness had shifted from pitch black to a hazy gray, only enough light for her to see that she was in the middle of nowhere, an eerie mist all around.

"Amy."

Amy drew in a sharp breath, quickly standing up and spinning in all directions. "He-hello?" The voice echoed all around and she could not pinpoint where it had come from. The mist was all around, swirling about her, threatening to suffocate her. "Hello?" she called again in desperation. Then she froze.

A figure formed in the mist, so far away that Amy thought she was seeing things. But the mist cleared a little, opening a dimly lit path in front of her. She could now make out the form of the figure. Her heart soared. "Sonic!"

Amy raced through the mist, fresh tears streaming down her face. Sonic had finally come for her! She knew he would. He had never let her down before. She kept running towards him, but she approached him slowly, impossible slowly, and her heart began to sink. "Sonic? Are you running away from me? Please, wait!"

Amy couldn't run any longer. She stopped and leaned over putting her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath, choking sobs rattling her body. Why was Sonic running from her? He knew she needed him. But he did not, would not, come for her. Her heart ached, the innermost fibers of her soul twisting in pain, the kind of pain that can only come from heartless, cold betrayal.

Suddenly, Amy felt a presence in front of her. She looked up through bitter tears, her breathing heavy. Then she backed away, a frightened gasp escaping her lips. Sonic was there, right there, so close she could her him breathing. But Amy was anything but glad to see him. The cold and indifferent look on his face was enough to shake her down to her very core.

Sonic continued to glare at her, his eyes completely void of emotion, cold and lifeless. The poor light around them cast a foreboding shadow upon him, masking half his face in shrouds of darkness. Amy couldn't bare it for long. She turned aside, sobbing anew.

"Amy." His voice was low and menacing. Amy slowly looked up at him, his face made even more frightening through her blurry tears. "I never want to see you again, do you understand? Never. I've never loved you. I've never liked you. All you are is a hindrance to me. I dread the mere thought that I might have to see you. But no more. We'll never see each other again."

Amy dropped to her knees, the breath knocked out of her. Sonic clenched his fists threateningly. Then he began to dissolve, blowing away in the mist, never once lifting his harsh stare until he vanished completely. Amy doubled over, weeping uncontrollably. "No!" she screamed. "Don't leave me!" Her insides twisted in grief, the pain in her heart too much for her to bare, and then she was falling and falling and falling.

Cream screamed as she was engulfed in the crimson ray. She put her hands over her eyes, fearing the worst. A sudden coldness came over her, and she peeked out between her fingers. She gasped in confusion, examining herself, feeling nothing out of the ordinary except for the cold. She looked around but could only see the brightness of the light. Amy and Cheese were gone. Cream began to cry as she turned around and around, trying to find an escape from the torrent of red light.

All of a sudden the light blinked out, and Cream found herself in an eerie half light. She whimpered as she looked around, desperately searching for her friends. But she was all alone. A ghostly fog swirled around her, clinging to her, penetrating her skin and spreading its icy cold tendrils through her soul. She held herself tight, crying heavily.

"Help! Somebody, please!" she sobbed. A sudden noise behind her caused her to jump in fear. She spun around and began backing away, but there was nothing there. Another noise, this time from the opposite direction. Cream bolted around, her breath coming out in rapid sobs. Again nothing, only the mist swirling about her.

Cream had never felt so frightened and alone. She didn't know what to do, where to go, and no one was there to help her. The loud scraping sounds kept playing all around her, turning her around and around until she could bare it no more. Cream fell to her knees, curling into a little ball, her hands covering her eyes. "No, stop! Go away, leave me alone! Someone help!"

"Cream."

Cream uncurled and rose to her knees. "Mo-mother?" she choked out. She looked all around. The noises had stopped, leaving only her mother's voice echoing about. "Mother? Where are you?" she cried.

"Cream. It's time to come home now." Her mother's voice was distant and emotionless, like she was merely stating a fact and was unconcerned if her daughter was alright. Cream jumped up and began slowly walking forward, trying to find where her mother's voice had come from. She cowered low as she walked, her mother's lack of concern breaking her heart. But she was still determined to find her. Maybe she would still be glad to see her.

"Cream. It's time for dinner. You should come home now."

"Mommy, where are you?" Cream began to run, not knowing where she was going, but she desperately raced along, feeling more cold and lonely with each step. Her tears blew back against her cheeks, stinging her eyes as she ran. A bright flash suddenly split the sky in front of her, followed by a loud thunderous roar. Cream screamed, dashing to the side, her hands over her ears. The wind began to blow fiercely, its mighty gusts threatening to sweep her off her feet.

"Cream, come home. The storm is already here. You should come home now."

"Mommy, help me! Help!" Lightning flashed all around, thunder roared, the wind blew in fury, and Cream's mother was not concerned for her. Cream fell down, her hands over her ears, sobbing and betrayed. Her mother didn't love her anymore. What had she done to lose her mother's love? Cream was so utterly alone, so unloved that her body twisted in torrents of pain. The storm came on her in full force, and then she was falling and falling and falling.

Tails was just veering off, looking for a good landing point towards the tree line of the forest, when he was suddenly surrounded by a red flash of light. Caught in the beam, he tried desperately to turn away, but his vision was completely obscured. An unearthly cold crept upon him, digging its icy fingers into his core. The sound of the Tornado's engine, even the very feeling of flight, began to fade away, and Tails knew that he was in big trouble.

"Oh no! I can't let it get to me. I have to stay focused." Tails could feel himself sleeping into the nightmare's hold. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, and at any minute, he would no longer be aware of reality at all. He clenched his eyes shut, holding his head and breathing rapidly. "I won't let you win! I have to keep you out!"

Tails opened his eyes suddenly, the red light had vanished, and total darkness surrounded him. He was no longer sitting in the Tornado's cockpit, just the cold ground was beneath him. Tails kept the nightmare at bay for only a moment more, before he was completely swallowed up in its dark grasp.

A feeling of total isolation came rapidly upon him, seeping deep into his soul. The cold was biting and stabbing, causing Tails to shiver all over. He stood slowly up, looking cautiously all around him. Nothing was there, and the darkness consumed him like a blanket. Tails swung his tails forwards and wrapped them tightly around him. Fear and panic began rising inside him, and he wished desperately that Sonic was there.

But Tails was all alone this time. Even so, though he felt like giving in, he had to try to find a way out of, wherever this was. He looked around, and suddenly the darkness lifted to a hazy gray. He slowly unwrapped his tails, and crept slowly forwards. A mist swirled around him, its eerie tendrils floating lazily by.

Tails continued to walk along, but he was going nowhere. He couldn't even tell if he was actually moving forwards or not. He began breathing rapidly, the silence and darkness testing his nerves to there limit. He began to spin his tails like a helicopter, trying desperately to fly out of this nightmarish place. He rose rapidly, but the higher he got, the darker the sky became, until he was flying through total darkness.

"Tails!"

Tails jolted at the scream. He stopped, hovering in place, looking desperately all around. The scream had sounded like a cry for help. Someone needed his help, but he could not find them. He felt, no, he knew that he would not be able to make it in time. He was going to let them down, just like he had always let Sonic down. His heart ached at his own incompetence. "Where are you?" he screamed into the dark, but only his echoes answered him.

Tails dived towards the ground, pushing himself faster and faster. He landed harshly, digging his feet into the ground before rolling and crashing seconds later.

"Tails! I need you!"

Tails shook himself and then jumped to his feet. He twirled in all directions, looking through the mist, but nobody was there. Stinging pain erupted through his body, the completeness of his failure coursing through him like a fire.

"Tails, please!"

Tails looked numbly around once more, and then froze. This time he saw something in the mist. The gray light slowly grew brighter, until he could see fully what lay ahead. Tails gasped in horror. "Sonic!"

Sonic was up ahead fighting an octopus-like robot. It was a huge robot, with a round, iron body and four legs, about the size of a small house. One of its legs had rammed down on Sonic, and Sonic struggled to hold it up to avoid being crushed. He strained to look back at Tails, an unnatural fear in his eyes.

"Tails! I can't hold it for long! I need you!"

"Sonic!" Tails bolted forwards, running as fast as he could, spinning his tails to help propel himself forwards. He ran and he ran, but he wasn't getting any closer to Sonic, who was struggling with all his might to hold up the massive leg. Tears streamed down Tails' face, the feeling of absolute failure and helplessness consuming him. His best friend, his brother, had asked him for help, had trusted him to help, but he just wasn't good enough to help.

Sonic looked backed once more, utter disappointment and betrayal in his eyes, and then the robot rammed its full force upon him, and he cried out as he was crushed under its claws. "No! Sonic!" Tails dropped to his knees, his body wracked with painful sobs. "What have I done? Sonic! I'm so sorry! You were always there for me, but I let you down! Oh, Sonic!"

The robot jerked around to face Tails, and he feebly looked up at it. But the robot began to fade away, the mist swirling about until it was gone. "Sonic!" Tails jumped up and dashed over to his friend. As he approached he could see where the ground had caved in under the immense pressure from the robot. Tails slowed suddenly as he grew closer, barely able to continue. He could see something in the crater, a small figure lying motionless in the mist. "S-Sonic?" he whispered.

Tails stepped into the crater, approaching Sonic with dread. His breaths came out in bitter sobs, his body quivering with fear. Sonic lay before him, motionless. Tails knelt beside him, his tears falling unto Sonics' breathless chest.

Suddenly, Sonic opened his eyes wide and grabbed Tails' arm. Tails gasped in startled fear, his body shaking uncontrollably. Sonics' wide eyed expression was a mix between pain and disappointment, the shocked confusion of Tails' betrayal evident in his face. "Tails, I trusted you," he coughed out, his voice streaked with pain. "I thought I could count on you, depend on you no matter what, but I was wrong." His words stabbed into Tails heart, the finality of his worthlessness to Sonic too much to bear. "You always try so hard, but you always fail so completely. I can't believe I ever trusted you."

Sonics' hand went suddenly limp, his arm falling with a thud. Guilt and anguish rose up inside of Tails' heart until he could no longer hold back his tormented screams. "Sonic! Please! I'm sorry, so, so sorry! Why did you ever trust me? I couldn't do anything to save you! Don't leave me, it's all my fault!" Tails' head fell on Sonics' chest, and he wept and shook in turmoil, and then he was falling and falling and falling.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Shadow had finally managed to spin attack his way through all of the firing guns at the robot's base and was now on the very top of one of its legs. He leapt up and began his second round of attacks, making his way higher and higher until he stood at the top, just below the head. The eye was on the other side of him, and he balanced on top of the clanking monster trying to locate a weakness to exploit. But the iron where he stood was just as seamless and impenetrable as the rest of the robot, and the head was so tightly secured to the body that there was no way to blast it off.

Shadow looked out and saw that Tails had finally finished his scans and was now flying away towards the forest. Shadow was about to try his Chaos Blast on the head, but it suddenly spun around to the right and its red beam shot forth, enveloping the Tornado in its scarlet rays. He knew that Tails was instantly in danger, now experiencing a horrible nightmare and completely unconscious. "Tails!"

But before he could even get his Chaos Emerald ready, the head spun again, the eye only inches away from him, and fired a second beam towards the forest. Shadow followed the laser's path, but couldn't see anybody until the beam died down moments later, revealing two small figures in the distance. He strained to see who they were, finally making out the familiar forms of Amy and Cream laying close to the boundary of the forest. Shadow looked back at the Tornado, which was spiraling down fast, then back at Amy and Cream. He heard a loud scraping coming from below him, and saw that a section of guns near the top had been replaced with a huge missile launcher. And it was pointed straight at Amy and Cream.

Shadow growled in confliction. He had no time to decide what he should do. He would have to make a choice. He looked at the Tornado first, and for a brief second he had caught a glimpse of a blue blur chasing after the plane. With that, Shadow pulled out his Emerald just as the missiles fired towards there targets. "Chaos Control!" A rush of energy surged around him, and he went from the top of the robot to the edge of the forest in an instant.

Shadow grabbed a hold of Amy and Cream, with Cheese holding on to Cream's hand, and uttered Chaos Control again, feeling the heat of the missiles as they transported away.

At the same time, Sonic raced towards the spiraling plane, his fear and guilt pushing him to greater speeds. He shouldn't have let Tails fly so close to that monster, and if anything happened to Tails, it was because of Sonic. He raced on, catching up to the plane quickly, running at the same speed until he had the opportunity to jump up and get Tails out.

The moment came seconds later, just as the Tornado dropped dangerously close to the ground. Sonic ramped off of a rock, sending him propelling trough the air with tremendous force. He landed for a split second on the cockpit, grabbed Tails, and jumped off, landing heavily just as the Tornado collided with earth and exploded.

Sonic breathed heavily as he watched the Tornado being consumed in flames, knowing that, had anything gone the slightest bit wrong, Tails would have been in the flames too. He gently laid Tails down, and began shaking him softly.

"Tails, hey buddy, you can wake up now. Come on, pal, you've got to shake it off." But his two-tailed friend just continued to sleep, a pained expression on his face. Pain stabbed at Sonics' heart, and he felt helpless knowing that Tails was enduring horrific visions and that he could do nothing to help him.

Sonic stood up and tried to calm himself. The robot was directly to the left of him, and was still continuing its way towards the city. It was over halfway there now, and they still could not stop it. They still couldn't even hurt it yet, and time was quickly running out. A bright light from the back of the robot caught his attention, and he watched as a huge blast fired towards the forest. And suddenly, a second after the missile exploded, Shadow suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him, with Amy and Cream unconscious at his feet.

"Shadow?" Sonic took only a moment of confused hesitation before he rushed forward and knelt beside Amy and Cream. "What happened, Shadow? Are they alright?"

Shadow nodded.

"They were hit by the beam, and then targeted by that missile launcher. They're lucky I saw them in time." Shadow glanced over at Tails, a trace of a smile on his face. "I see Tails is alright. But now we are no better off than before. If we don't find a way to stop that robot soon, it will use its beam on the city."

Sonic gently shook Amy and Cream again, but they were in the same state as Tails. Sonic patted Cheese on the head, who was crying next to Cream, apparently unaffected by the beam, and stood up. "Thanks, Shadow, I owe you one." He nodded to the girls and smiled. Shadow nodded and crossed his arms, but his dark and uncaring demeanor softened a bit, and he smiled briefly back.

"Sonic, Shadow! What's going on? Is Tails alright?" Sonic and Shadow looked back to the robot, the call coming from that direction, and spotted Knuckles and Rouge running towards them. They reached them moments later, both breathless and gasping from the run. "Yeah, Tails is ok. Just unconscious, and Amy and Cream too." They looked down at Amy and Cream, and stared with confusion.

"Where did they come from? Are they alright?" Knuckles asked between breaths.

"They were hit by the beam too. Shadow saved them from a missile launcher and brought them here. But going back to the robot, we now have no information and no plan. So it's back to square one."

"Sonic!" They turned back towards the scream, and Sonic rushed to Tails' side. Tails sat abruptly up and rubbed his head. He blinked and looked up at Sonic in a daze.

"Easy, buddy, you're safe now. It was just a nightmare." Sonic extended his hand to Tails, helping him gently to his feet. Tails took a few moments to focus, but he finally brushed aside the cobwebs and shook his head. Knuckles ran to his side and patted him on the back.

"Tails, don't scare us like that. What would we do without you?" Tails was glad to see Knuckles, but his last statement sent knives into his heart. _You would be better off without me. You probably wouldn't even know if I was gone._ Tails tried to fight away the effects of the dream, but he was losing. It was so real, the helplessness, the uselessness. He didn't deserve to be a part of the team. He always let them down.

"But, I lost all the data. Now what are we going to do?"

Twin screams filled the air behind them. Amy and Cream were just waking up, and Cream especially was thrown into a panic attack.

"Mommy, please! Where are you? Don't leave me!" Sonic was there in an instant, hugging her tightly.

"It's ok Cream. It's me, Sonic," he whispered soothingly. Cream looked up through teary eyes, pausing her sobs for a moment.

"Sonic?" Cheese flew up to her and hugged her too.

Sonic winked. "That's right. You're safe now." Cream blinked and rubbed her eyes.

"Sonic, wait! Don't leave me!" Amy opened her eyes, and blinked vigorously. She felt numb all over and couldn't focus on her surroundings. She sat up and rubbed her head, feeling dizzy. Finally her vision cleared and she saw Cream lying next to her. And Sonic was there too, holding Cream in his arms. He looked over at her and began to come towards her, gently letting go of Cream, and then kneeling beside her.

A brief image of that shadowy Sonic flashed in front of her, his cold stare sending shockwaves through her body. It took everything she had to resist the urge to back away from him.

"Amy, your safe now. Right?" He winked at her, offering her his hand. She stared at it for a moment, and then slowly took it. He gently raised her up and then looked at her with concern. Amy just stared back, blushing slightly. Then she looked around and noticed the others.

"What's going on? What happened? Where did that robot come from?"

Sonic briefly explained the nightmare ray to them, but that was really all they knew about it anyway.

"Alright, this little reunion was overly touching, and all, but let's get back to the problem. Shall we?" Rouge gestured towards the robot and then crossed her arms. She glanced over at Shadow, who was just standing and glaring at the robot, but quickly averted her gaze when he turned to face them. His alarmingly dark and uncaring personality had never really bothered her before, but now she felt the slightest twinge of fear when she was in his presence. She kept up her smug and sarcastic demeanor on the outside, but on the inside she felt more alone and afraid then she ever had. _Get a hold of yourself. It was just an illusion. Nothing has changed and you've still got a mission to do._

"Rouge is right. We've got to stop that robot before it reaches the city." Knuckles raised his fist in the air for effect. "I say we attack it with everything we've got. There's got to be a weak spot somewhere, so let's go find it." He turned to Shadow. "If you use your full power to slow it down, Sonic and I can make quick work of what's left."

Shadow didn't respond at first. He looked down, avoiding everyone's waiting eyes. It might work, if he took off his limiters and created a massive explosion of energy to cripple the robot, but…That would just be a weapon against a weapon. A mechanical beast against a bio-weapon. _That's absurd. Everything I do, I do because I decide to._ Shadow looked at his hands, the sun glinting off of his rings. _That robot must be stopped. I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means doing it in the way I was created for. As a weapon of mass destruction._

"Um, Shadow? Are you alright?" Shadow snapped up and stared at Rouge. "We should do it now. The robot is already closing in on the city. As soon as I release all of my energy, you'll have to move in fast. Who knows if I can actually weaken that hunk of metal."

Knuckles and Sonic nodded in agreement. It was time to act, and fast.

"But wait, you can't." Cream suddenly spoke up, her eyes still wet with tears. "You can't use up all of your energy. We don't know if you'll be alright." She looked at Shadow with concerned eyes.

"Cream's right. We don't even know if it'll work, and Sonic and Knuckles would be in danger, too." Amy gave them all a worried look, and then turned to Tails. "Come on, Tails. Tell them there has to be a better way."

Tails shrunk back a little, shaking his head. "I don't know, Amy. It seems like the only way. There's no time to analyze it any further. I…I don't know what else to do."

"Ok, then, it's settled. We have to attack now," Knuckles said in a fierce tone.

"Shadow, if you're really sure that this is the on-" Rouge was cut off by a sudden change in the robot. They all watched with apprehension as the robot suddenly stopped its slow advance, coming to a complete stand still. All of its guns stopped firing, and it just stood in the dirt, motionless and silent.

Then, from out of dozens of newly opened portals spaced out around the top half of its body, what seemed like hundreds of car-sized flying robotic drones began pouring out. They all watched, transfixed, as the sea of iron robots began racing off in all directions. Wave after wave flew out, quickly disappearing from view as they made there way to there unknown destinations. The drones were round, like the mother robot, but they had no legs and their heads were on the bottom.

At last, the robot had stopped spilling out the drones, and was again motionless. Only two of the drones had remained in site, one of them setting high above Station Square, and the other hovering over Mystic Ruins.

No one spoke. No one moved. No one knew what was about to happen. A feeling of dread hung in the air. The robot seemed to be waiting. What else did that robot have in store?

"Wh-what was that? What happ-"Cream stopped her questioning when the head of the robot, which had been pointing towards the forest, spun around to face the city.

They all gasped in horror as the red ray fired upon the city, striking the drone hovering above it. Its scarlet beam continued to blaze forth, seemingly charging up the drone, which began to glow bright crimson.

Never had they felt such stabbing fear, such helplessness, as the city was bathed in an eerie glow. All they could do was stare in dismay, completely transfixed on the blood red star. Finally, the robot's beam died down, but the drone continued to glow. All was completely silent as the eye on the drone cast its own red ray upon the city, spreading its light across Station Square like a spider web.

A gloomy, moaning sound began to reach there ears, causing there hearts to sink in grief. Everyone in the entire city was now experiencing there worst fears and nightmares, and there agonizing cries could be heard, even from this distance. The relentless crimson beam seemed permanently fixed on its target, hovering like a vulture over its prey.

Cream began to cry, holding her ears to block out the agonizing screams. "Please, make it stop! What are we going to do?" Amy held her tight, fighting back tears of her own.

Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald. He had had enough of this nightmare onslaught. "I'll take care of that drone. Then we can take out the robot."

"Hold up, Shadow. If you use Chaos Control to get on top of the drone, you'll still be caught in the beam. See, its glowing red all over. Then you'll just be stuck up there, and we need you here." Sonic motioned for him to put his Emerald away.

Shadow looked angrily at him. He was tired of this think-and-not-act approach, and it was about time that they actually did something. He gripped the yellow gem even tighter, defiantly glaring back at Sonic. "Then what do you suggest? We sit here and wait for that thing to just wear off?"

"Calm down, Shadow. We just need think for a minute."

"No, Rouge. We have a mission to complete. And if I have to do it by myself, I will." Rouge held his stare for a moment, but his gaze was so harsh that she had to look away.

"I've had enough of this," Knuckles growled. "Listen up! We should stick with our original plan. And while Shadow, Sonic, and I are taking down the robot, Rouge, Tails, and Amy should fly up to the drone and take it down from the air."

Everyone was a little caught off guard by Knuckles' sudden outburst. They all just stared at one another, daring each other to speak out against the plan. Cream looked at them all, one by one, trying to figure out what they were going to do. They had to do something, and soon. Those poor people were all suffering from terrible nightmares. They had to save them.

Cream suddenly froze in alarm. She looked frantically around, panic growing in her heart as she looked at all of her friends. Fear radiated through her body as she realized that someone was missing. "Where is Tails!?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Tails stared down at his feet, backing another few steps away from the group. He didn't know what to do. Amy had asked him for his advice, but he had none. How could he let them all down? And now Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles were going to risk there lives, and he couldn't tell them anything that would help.

"Shadow, if you're really sure that this is the on-" Rouge was cut off by a sudden change in the robot. They all watched with apprehension as the robot suddenly stopped its slow advance, coming to a complete stand still. All of its guns stopped firing, and it just stood in the dirt, motionless and silent.

Then, from out of dozens of newly opened portals spaced out around the top half of its body, what seemed like hundreds of car-sized flying robotic drones began pouring out. They all watched, transfixed, as the sea of iron robots began racing off in all directions. Wave after wave flew out, quickly disappearing from view as they made there way to there unknown destinations. The drones were round, like the mother robot, but they had no legs and their heads were on the bottom.

Suddenly, as they watched the last few drones sail away beyond the city, Tails was lifted off of the ground by an unknown force. It seized a hold of him, dragging him into the air with invisible hands. He was whisked away so fast, that he couldn't even yell for help.

Tails watched helplessly as his friends shrunk in the distance, unaware that he was being abducted. He managed to lift his head slightly and his eyes grew wide with panic. One of the drones flew above him, but instead of a red beam coming from its head, like the mother robot, a blue-green aura radiated around him, holding him suspended under the drone as it flew away with him.

Within a few seconds, the wasteland vanished from his site, and was replaced by narrow iron walls. It must be have been one of the portholes that the drones had flew out from, and this rogue drone had brought him inside the robot for reasons unknown.

The tunnel opened up abruptly to a long, dark hallway lit only by a few eerie lamps spaced out every few yards. Tails tensed as he felt the drone's aura loosening its grip on him, and slowly forced his two tails to spin. Faster and faster until he broke free from the drones hold, flying back a little ways as it lost all power and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Tails landed cautiously, keeping his distance for a few seconds. It didn't move. He took a few steps forward. Nothing. Tails knocked tentatively on the drone, the echoes loudly sounding throughout the hall. He looked down the hallway, which curved to the right a ways down. He took a deep breath.

"Alright, Tails. Come on, you can do it," he encouraged himself. "There's no where else to go. You have to find a way out of here. Maybe even a way to beat this machine from the inside." Tails gulped as he began to ease his way down the hall. The dimly lit corridor was wide, but not cavernous. His shoes clanked along the metal grates of the floor as he approached the curve. This must be the outer rim of the interior of the robot, so the hallway would continue to curve around the length of its round body.

Tails jerked to a standstill as a bright light flashed just around the bend, illuminating the floor in front of him with a pulsing, whitish light. He tiptoed closer until he saw the origin of the glow. A huge iron door was embedded in the side of the wall. Bright, intensely pulsing light radiated from under it. Tails stared at it for a moment, not sure what to do. He could continue down the hall, hoping to find some sort of escape hatch, or he could try to get this door open and find out was going on.

"Come on. Get the door open. You have to find out what's going on. Everyone is counting on you." Tails tried to pep talk himself, but he still trembled as he reached out and felt along the cold surface, knowing that his friends probably didn't even need his help.

He ran his hands along the length of the door, the light still pouring out from beneath it. Tails stopped as he felt something beneath his hand, eyeing what looked like a small lever. He took a deep breath and then pulled the switch.

A small clicking noise sounded from the door, and it slowly began to rise up. The flashing light bathed Tails in its glow as the interior of the robot was about to be revealed. He nervously blinked in the light until the door rose above him, allowing him to peer in the unknown chamber.

He slowly stepped in, his heart pounding, and gasped at the size of the room. It was every bit as big on the inside as it was on the outside. Computers and wires lined the walls and massive monitors were displayed throughout. But what was in the center of the room, the source of the light, caused Tails to feel fearful confusion as he stared in utter shock.

A massive cylindrical dome rose from floor to ceiling, transparent, like glass. Inside it stood a huge crystal like casing, suspended above the ground by a matching pedestal. Seven smaller pedestals, like golden poles, were evenly circled around it, six of which were adorned by a glowing Chaos Emerald.

The pedestals pulsed with violent bolts of electric lights, causing the Chaos Emeralds to charge up with there own glow. Then the Emeralds fired electric charges at the crystal, which radiated and pulsed, as if the Emeralds were charging it up with there intensified energy. A blast of light fired up the dome from the crystal, disappearing into a portal at the top of the dome.

"Six Chaos Emeralds? That explains how this thing could be so impenetrable. But what is in that crystal? What's happening to the Emeralds?" Tails crept slowly closer, peering inside the dome to the crystal within, but the light made it impossible to see if there was anything inside it.

Then, all at once, the Emeralds stopped their electric barrage, and died down to a dim glow. The beam shooting up from the crystal faded slowly, until only the crystal remained glowing. The light slowly dimmed, pulsing with a few last glimmers of white, and Tails' mouth dropped open. He gasped in total shock.

"Silver?"

Cream suddenly froze in alarm. She looked frantically around, panic growing in her heart as she looked at all of her friends. Fear radiated through her body as she realized that someone was missing. "Where is Tails!?"

They all immediately forgot about the tension surrounding Knuckles' plan of attack, looking all around for their two-tailed friend. But he wasn't there. A cold, biting feeling settled in Sonics' stomach, a numbing sensation of total loss.

"Tails!?" He cried, but no reply came. "Tails!? Tails!?"

Knuckles, Cream, and Amy joined in, calling out to there missing friend. Rouge took to the air, hovering above them, looking from her high advantage point as far as she could see.

Shadow gripped his Chaos Emerald tighter, until his knuckles hurt, but he didn't join the rest in calling for Tails. His mind was swept back to a time long ago, a time when someone he loved had been taken from him. He couldn't do anything to save her. And now, he felt once again helpless to save an innocent child from the danger that surrounded them. He felt his eyes grow wet, but he didn't wipe away the tears, merely blinking his eyes until a single tear rolled down his cheek.

He looked over to Sonic, who was still desperately calling Tails' name. "Sonic. We have to act now. The robot must be stopped. Whatever has happened to Tails, he'll be able to handle it on his own."

Sonic shot Shadow a menacing look. "No! We can't just forget about Tails! I have to find him. One of those drones must have done something while we weren't looking. Knuckles, come on, we have to find Tails, now!" Sonic then sped away, blazing over to the crashed Tornado, searching the wreckage in the blink of an eye. No sign of Tails.

He began searching all around the perimeter of the robot, running faster and faster, the wind swirling behind. He didn't stop his search, didn't let up his speed for a moment. The feeling of dread sunk deeper and deeper into his heart with each step he took. Anything could have happened to his best friend. Why hadn't he kept a closer eye on Tails?

Sonic veered off, running along the forests edge, making a full sweep from left to right in a matter of seconds. He stopped close to the downed Tornado, the dread that had been his driving force, now was weighing him down to a standstill. The smoking remains of the plane brought painful tears to his eyes. Tails was gone. Gone. He hadn't been there for him. He hadn't been able to save him. Where was he? What had happened?

"Sonic." Sonic looked over his shoulder, a look of hopeless anger on his face.

"Shadow. Can't you take care of that machine by yourself? Just go. I have to find Tails."

"Sonic, you can't just quit on us. Tails would be disappointed in you if you just gave up. Tails never gave up on you. The only place you haven't looked is _inside_ that robot. If we take it down, then we just might find him there."

Sonic just blinked back at Shadow. He was right. Tails would be disappointed, no, ashamed of him if he just left the robot to attack the city. And he just might have been taken hostage by one of those drones. But, maybe not. If he stopped looking for Tails now, then he might never find him. Sonic closed his eyes tight, pounding his head, as if trying to beat the right answer out of his brain.

Shadow turned away, looking back at the city that was enveloped in an eerie red light. He had never been good at, had never even tried to say a few lines of encouragement to anybody before, and probably never would again. Still, he had had to say something to snap Sonic out of it. They needed him for the attack, though he would never admit it straight up. And, he really did mean the part about Tails being in the robot. It was the only place close enough, and impenetrable enough, for a small fox to just disappear into.

Shadow began to walk away, heading off to face the robot with the others. "Shadow, wait." He stopped abruptly, looking back over his shoulder at Sonic. "You're right. We have to stop that thing. We have to stop it from attacking the city." Shadow nodded in agreement. Sonic walked slowly away from his buddy's little plane. He didn't say another word to his dark counterpart, but he was grateful to him for his attempt at cheering him up. Sonic knew that Shadow knew what it felt like to lose someone, and this was his best effort at trying to comfort him. But, he suspected, it would never happen again, after the whole nightmare thing wore off.

The two hedgehogs raced back to the others, who gathered around them with concerned and frightened expressions. "Are you guy's crazy? You can't just go running off like that. We have to take down this robot, now! We have to find Tails!" Knuckles tone was loud and alarmed. He was just as upset about Tails as the others, yelling his distress at the top of his lungs.

"Easy, Knuckles. We all know what we have to do. I'm sure your little friend is fine. He's been through worse before, right?" Rouge's tone was surprisingly soft and sweet, and Knuckles looked at her in confusion for a moment. Then he began to calm himself with deep breaths, smiling slightly at his batty friend.

Cream and Cheese were crying in Amy's arms, who held them tight while visibly trying to blink her own tears away. "Tails is fine, Cream. We have to help stop the robot." She looked at Sonic with fear and concern. "We have to stop it, right?"

Sonic looked over to Shadow. They both nodded. "We have to try. Tails may be inside that thing. Knuckles' plan is the only one we have, so we better get started on it. Rouge, you fly Amy up to that drone. Under no circumstances do you get anywhere near that red glow around it. Amy, I want you to rain as many hammers down on it as possible, ok?"

Amy's eyes glimmered with that familiar spark of hers. Sonic still trusted her? Of course he did. He was counting on her to take that drone down. He needed her, and she was not going to let him down. A feeling of cold detachment, however, still nagged at the back of her heart. Would Sonic just forget about her after it was all over? Could he just be using her for her abilities in combat, a mere tool to help him stop the robot?

"Amy? I'm counting on you. I know you can do it. You and Rouge are the only one's who can handle this. Station Square needs you. I believe in you." Amy had never heard Sonic sound more confident in her before. The bitter tears that lingered in her eyes were replaced by soothing tears of joy. They streamed down her face, cleansing her soul of all doubt.

"Oh, Sonic!" She leapt up and pulled him into a hug. "I felt like you didn't even care about me. Like you didn't even like me. I wont let you down, you'll see." Sonic lightly hugged her back, letting her cry a few moments more, before gently pushing her away and clearing his throat.

"Didn't care about you?" He said softly. "Don't let those nightmares get to you, Amy. You know that I-"

"Come on, everyone. Enough of this. We have to go, right now!" Knuckles stomped his foot and folded his arms impatiently.

"Y-yeah, your right, let's get started," Sonic stammered. "Cream, you and Cheese wait here. Stay put until this is all over with."

Cream wiped her eyes, and blinked at Sonic. "But, we can help, too. Cheese isn't affected by the nightmare beam. We can fly up there with Rouge and Amy and attack the drone, too. I don't want those people to have nightmares anymore. And maybe it will help us find Tails."

Sonic looked down at Cream's determined face. No way should she be allowed to go up there. What if he lost Cream too?

Amy put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Rouge and I will watch over them. They want to help too. We need them. They'll be fine, I promise."

Sonic took a deep breath. He looked around, getting nods from everyone in the group. "Ok, but don't leave Rouge and Amy's side for a minute. Stick together." Cream smiled at him, and Cheese cheered in agreement.

"Alright, It's time," Shadow announced. He rotated the ring on his wrist nervously. He was the only one who would have to risk everything. Not that he had any problem with that. He was more than ready to give it all he had, never backing away from any dangerous situation. But somehow he knew that his all was not going to be enough this time. Even so, this was his purpose in life, to fight and destroy whatever stood in his way. "As soon as I've used my reserve energy, you'll have to strike fast."

Sonic and Knuckles nodded solemnly. They could feel the tension in the air. This was not going to end well for them. But it had to be done, and it was time to end this nightmarish onslaught.

Rouge turned slightly away, hugging herself and looking down at the ground. "Just, I mean don't, well, just stay safe, alright?" Shadow glanced back at her, his expression softening a little.

"You too," he murmured. Then he raced off to face the monstrous robot, Sonic and Knuckles preparing to charge after him, and Rouge, Cream, Cheese, and Amy took off to begin their aerial assault on the drone.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Tails bolted to the dome, pressing his hands against it. "Silver? Are you alright? What's going on? Can you hear me?" Silver was lying face down inside the crystal, struggling to pull himself up. He managed to lean heavily against the crystal's wall, breathing heavily and trying to focus on Tails.

"T-tails. N-not much t-time," he stammered, his voice hardly audible. "C-cant take much m-more. My p-power is f-failing." His voice trailed off, and he slid down the crystal's side, slumping over onto the ground. Tails banged against the dome, uncertain if Silver was still conscious.

"Silver? Hey, can you hear me? Please, you have to tell me what's going on." Tails waited for a moment, but the white hedgehog did not move again. "Oh, no. Hang on, Silver. I'll find a way to get you out." Tails slowly backed away from the dome, his mind racing. He had to figure this out.

It looked like Silver was being used as some sort of power core, the energy of the Chaos Emeralds amplifying his power, and sending the energy beam up to power the robot. Silver's ability to use the Emerald's power himself must also be making his powers even more effective.

Tails looked around at all of the massive computers and monitors throughout the room. There were so many, he didn't know where to start. All of the technology looked very advanced. There was a good chance that this robot was from the future, so this technology was probably going to be very difficult to solve.

Tails took a few deep breaths, calming his racing heart. "Focus, Tails. You are the only one who can stop this. Silver must have taken over that drone's power core just to bring you here. You can't let him down. You can't let Sonic down." He looked back at Silver, who was still lying motionless in the crystal dungeon. He took another breath. "You can do this. Building and taking apart machines is what you were born to do."

He gulped as he approached the closest computer, its massive monitor nearly taking up the entire side of the wall. The screen was filled with data charts, graphs, energy levels, all displayed in green words and lines. "This must be the central processing unit for all of the robots functions. Guns, damage, energy output, maximum efficiency levels for just about everything."

Tails grabbed the mouse, highlighting and clicking on a few things to see if access was available. He tapped the gun levels, and a screen popped up in front of him, displaying all of the information that he had chosen. Apparently, whoever built this robot had not figured on anyone getting inside, so no security code was implemented into the computer. Tails shook his head and continued.

He checked everything on the screen, skimming over all of the information, but could nothing to actually make a change in its function. This computer was merely a database for the robots many systems, it only displayed the data, but had no control over it. Tails turned to leave, trying to find the control unit, but stopped and went back to the monitor. A small message icon lay hidden at the very corner of the screen. It was the only thing that Tails had not clicked on yet.

He decided to see what was on it, it being the only message icon on the whole screen, somewhat out of place with all the graphs and energy levels on display. Tails moved the cursor over it, a sudden feeling of apprehension taking hold of him. He held his breath and clicked on the icon.

A large window filled the middle of the screen. Tails jumped back, startled as a chorus of maniacal laughter filled the room. "Eggman?" he gasped. "I should have known. But…" Tails stared at the figure on the screen. It certainly looked like Eggman, but something was different. His mustache was the same shape, but the whiskers were white, and his sense of fashion, though bad before, had taken a turn for the worse.

This Eggman kept up his insanely obnoxious laughter for a few minutes more. Then he finally got right up close to the camera, grinning gleefully as he began to speak.

"Today, I, the greatest criminal mastermind to have ever graced this planet, have completed my ultimate means to take over the world!" He stepped back a little, a very smug look on his face, and continued. "Not long ago, I discovered the perfect technology that would help me rule this wretched world, once and for all." Another display window popped up, showing clips and pictures of everything he announced.

A picture of the Space Colony Ark blinked up. "A few months ago, I discovered a secret file concerning my ancestor, Professor Gerald Robotnik. It seems that he was researching a way to implement psychiatric treatment to the patients on the Ark, a kind of treatment that would utilize the patients most pleasant fantasies, giving them peaceful dreams and soothing there diseased minds." A picture of some of the patients flashed up beside the Ark.

"Unfortunately, the professor scrapped this research and began working on Project Shadow exclusively, locking away the secrets of the mind forever." Another outburst of laughter blared throughout the room. A picture of the robot came up next.

"But now, those secrets belong to me! The incompleteness of the information made things rather difficult, but that was also to my advantage, making it easier to twist the essence of that knowledge to fulfill my own purposes. I was able to completely reverse the effects of the nuerogenic stimulation, causing one to see not there most perfect dreams, but their most terrifying nightmares!" He laughed as he made a dramatic sweeping motion, changing the picture to a shot of Silver the Hedgehog.

"All I needed was a way to magnify the psychiatric energy required for such a large scale assault. This pesky creature is arguably the strongest psychic of the age. And his Chaos abilities will make his psychic energy so great, I can scarcely imagine what would happen if I have all Seven Emeralds!"

A 2D green-graphed image of Station Square came on screen, the robot sitting exactly where it sat now. "Unfortunately, that cursed black hedgehog always seems to have one of the Emeralds. But six will still be most efficient. This city will be a perfect starting point for my little endeavor to get underway. As soon as all of the drones reach all of the major cities throughout the world, I will send my nightmare beam to charge up the satellite, which will then orbit the planet, filling the drones with unending waves of nightmare inducing fuel!

Tails put his hand to his head, watching the scale model of the robot shoot a laser beam into space, striking a satellite orbiting above the city. Then it circled around the globe, striking all of the drones, which formed a red network of beams across the planet. "Oh, no," was all he could mutter, a feeling of dread hanging in the air as the mad scientist before him cackled in hysteric glee.

"The only thing left for me to do, is send this robot back in time, a hundred years or so, and await the changing of my future. He who controls the past, controls the future I always say. No one will be able to escape my fearful grasp. The people of this world will be enslaved by their own fears, and I will be the one who controls their fears. There will be no escape!"

Tails swayed a little as the screen froze the last image on the screen, the entry finally over. He was too filled with grief to do anything for a few moments. He felt completely helpless. That Eggman's plan was so bold, so big, so flawless. How would they be able to stop it? Those drones were already on there way, in a matter of minutes they would all be in place. The world would soon be drowned in a sea of fear. No one would be able to break free.

Tails turned away from the monitor, unable to think. He looked back at Silver, who was beginning to stir. He rushed over and pressed himself against the dome. "Silver! What should we do? How do we stop it?"

Silver slowly rose up to his knees, but struggled too greatly too stand. "T-tails, you have to think." He pressed his hands against the crystal, breathing heavily, but gave Tails a determined look. "You have to find a way, Tails. You saw w-what is going to h-happen. I can't h-help you anymore. My powers are t-too depleted to try and t-take over the controls again. It's up to you."

Tails just blinked back at him. Silver was right. He had to get with it and figure this thing out. He nodded at his friend, who nodded back with confident smile, before slumping against the crystal and closing his eyes.

Suddenly, a monitor on the far side of the room began flashing a red warning sign, accompanied by a loud alarm. Tails ran over to it, the screen displaying a distant shot of something approaching, and fast. The computer began flashing up different grids and menus of the weapons control base, switching all of the guns and cannons on.

"Oh, no! They must be going through with their plan. That must be Shadow. I have to stop him!" Tails had suddenly remembered seeing a force field energy level of some kind on the previous monitor. He ran back over to it, bringing up the force field data. It was at full power, coursing over the entire surface of the robot. "No, this is not good. This force field is also powered by the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow will never be able to get through, not even with Chaos Control."

Tails ran from computer to computer, trying to find the communication system, if there even was one. That Eggman doppelganger would have had to install some sort of input-output system to signal his robot to start the attack, right?

Tails checked another monitor but it was no good. He turned swiftly to try another computer, but his foot kicked something and he stumbled to the ground. He shook his head and looked by his foot. Some sort of handheld device lay on the floor. He scooped it up, examining it. It was a small, with two handles on the side, and a screen in the middle surrounded by buttons. He pushed the button in the top right corner. The screen lit up, and a loud, jazzy tune played from the speakers.

"A radio? A music player, maybe?" The saxophone solo played loudly, and Tails turned the volume off in haste. "That Eggman guy must have played music while he was working in here. I wouldn't think jazz would be his style though." Tails suddenly leapt up, holding the small machine as he ran to one of the smaller computers.

"This will work, it has to," he said as he slid up under the computers control panel. He pulled out his trusty screwdriver, which he always kept with him, not knowing when he might need it next, and began taking the panels apart. "It'll be easy to reconfigure the wavelengths to radio waves, and then all I have to do is charge it up enough to get a frequency that can be sent out through the robots metal casing. Also, if I hook it up directly into this computer, it will be tied in with main circuitry, which surely connects to the outside of this machine as well. I know I can get a signal to them. I just hope I'm not too late."

Tails worked as fast as he could, disconnecting and reconnecting wires and circuit breakers, unplugging cords and redirecting energy outlets until he had successfully, hopefully, made the necessary adjustments to the handheld and computer systems to create a super charged radio transmitter. "Here goes nothing."

Shadow effortlessly raced towards the robot, his air shoes gliding over the rocky terrain with ease. In mere moments he would be directly under the robot, which was still sitting silently before him. A deep, tumultuous feeling penetrated deep into his soul as he approached the iron giant. He had used his full power only once before, and it was only a miracle that he had lived to fight another day. It was not that he was afraid to sacrifice himself for the good of the planet, but this destruction was a very sober reminder of just who and what he was. And this time he was not in space, in an isolated space station with only a few witnesses around him. This time the world would see just what he was capable of, the depths of his powers and destructive capabilities would be the only thing that he would be remembered for. A weapon, nothing else, that was all he was, to the world and to himself.

Shadow stopped directly under the massive body, and began to call up his reserves of chaos energy. The violent rush of energy swirled inside him like a storm, just waiting to be released, but hindered by his protective limiter rings. Shadow felt like he was going to explode. He grunted under the sheer pressure that was rattling inside him, literally shaking him to his core. Electric bolts of energy began swirling around him, no longer being able to contain any of his normal energy from escaping. The air sizzled and sparked around him, whipping into a wild frenzy of electric chaos.

Sure that he had summoned all of his energy to the surface, Shadow struggled greatly to reach for his rings, the agonizing bolts of pain shooting throughout his body making it difficult to move. He crossed his hands together, each one gripping the opposite ring, ready to pull them off in seconds. Shadow closed his eyes in grim peace. It was time.

"Shadow? Rouge? Can you hear me? Come in!"

Shadow's eyes snapped open. He thought he had heard a small voice amidst the uproar of his chaos energy.

"Stop, Shadow! If you can hear me, don't attack! It has a Chaos Emerald powered force field! Get out of there! The guns are about to come online!"

Shadow looked down at his wrist transmitter, his vision blurry. If he didn't release his energy now, then he would be consumed by it. It was eating away at him from the inside out, threatening to destroy him in moments. He dropped to his knees, falling forward onto his hands, heaving greatly. He couldn't think straight, didn't know how to stop the energy flow that had only one place to go.

A sudden chorus of clicks and grinding sounds filled the air, Shadow only dimly aware of the guns targeting him. He gritted his teeth, growling at his inability to control his powers. He was too weak to move, to even reach for his limiter rings. The robots guns or his own cursed powers would finish him off in moments.

"Shadow!?" A voice was all he heard before the guns blazed all around him. But no stinging bullet touched him. A sudden pressure around him, and then a rush of wind. Then he was lying down again, convulsing on the dirt, sparks still flying.

"Shadow? Shadow! You have to calm down! You have to stop your energy reserves!"

Shadow opened his eyes, squinting at the faces around him. "R-rouge?" She smiled sweetly at him for a moment, her concerned eyes slightly misty. She stood close to him, the others behind her slightly. His electric bolts prevented them from getting too close.

"I heard that transmission, too, so we came back and told Sonic. But you have to calm down. Can you hear me?" Shadow looked at all of his friends concerned eyes. Until this moment, he had never really considered them to be his friends. But they had always seemed to be there when he needed them. Or didn't need them. It was debatable. And now they were all worried about him. Why? Was he more to them then just a freakish bio-weapon?

An image of Maria flashed before him, suddenly whisking him away to the Ark, his former home. He could see her, a small blonde girl, standing next to the window, looking out towards the glowing planet below. She turned around and looked directly at him, her eyes glowing bright, and the sweetest smile on her face.

"Oh, Shadow. One day, we'll get to visit that planet, and we'll get to make so many new friends. I bet they are so nice down there, just like you. I can't wait to go, it will be so wonderful. Don't you think so, Shadow?" Her last few words echoed about him, her smile even bigger as she faded away.

Shadow closed his eyes. The rivers of destruction flowing throughout him slowly began to ease, the chaotic energy settling back down inside him. His body ached from the relentless assault of power, but he was now able to control himself again, the monstrous reserve of energy sealed tight once more. Shadow opened his eyes, and stood with some difficulty, blinking at his friends.

"We were so worried about you, Shadow! Are you alright?" Cream stepped a little closer, tears running down her cheeks. He blinked at her, a confused expression on his face for a moment, but he quickly masked it with his usual frown.

"Yeah. I was able to lock my power down just in time. But now we have to figure out another way to stop this thing." He lifted his arm close to his face. "Tails, how can we stop this thing if it has a chaos force field?"

"What!?" Sonic bolted over to Shadow, nearly knocking him down while grabbing at his arm. "Tails? Are you alright? Where are you?" Shadow wrestled with him for a moment, finally pushing him away. Sonic stared wide eyed at Rouge. "Why didn't you tell me that transmission was from Tails?"

Rouge shrugged, waving him off dismissively. "Relax, blue boy. We had to get Shadow first. Now you know, so just calm down." Sonic shot her a look, but was too relieved to here about Tails to pay her any mind. Everyone else also crowded around the two agents, their joy over Tails the only thing that mattered for a second.

"I'm fine, Sonic. Really. But you'll never believe it. I'm inside the robot now. One of those drones, which was taken over by Silver's telekinesis, grabbed me and-"

"Silver!?" A collective gasp cut off Tails, everyone looking around at each other in confusion.

"That future jerk?" Sonic and Knuckles asked in a somewhat whiney manner.

"Yes. You want believe it. Some Eggman guy from the future built this robot from some technology he found by Professor Gerald Robotnik. He's using Silver as a power source for it, and he also has Six Chaos Emeralds to make it even more powerful."

Tails briefly explained all that he had found out from the database, including the end result that was quickly approaching. They all stood silently for a moment, looking at each other for answers.

"What are we going to do?" Amy whispered. She looked towards the glowing city, the bleak and eerie redness hovering before her like a plague. "What can we do?"

Tails looked up from his makeshift transmitter, the silence on the other side disheartening. "Give me a minute. Maybe I can find someway to turn off the force field." He left his contact with the outside world, going back over to the main computer database.

He assessed all of the energy levels and weapon programs. They were all still fully operational. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead as a tried to find something, anything, which would help stop this machine.

"Come on, think. There is a way to stop this. You just need to find someway to get the force field offline. There's no way that you can take this thing apart from the inside by yourself. Everything in here is too hard and too thick to take apart. And, it would probably have some sort of safety precaution if anything was even slightly damaged, so-"

Tails stopped himself, looking wide-eyed up at the monitor. He let out a small gasp. "That's it!" He rushed back over to his radio, speaking in a breathless tone.

"Everyone listen. I think I know how to stop it. It's not going to be easy, it might not even be possible, but it is definitely our best shot at taking this robot down."

"What, already? What's the plan?" Knuckles huffed into the speaker. Tails took a deep breath.

"I was looking over all the function levels of this thing, and I saw a coolant system on display. All machines have some sort of cooling system, via fans and thermal exhaust vents, so they don't over heat. That is the only way in and out of the robot other that the portholes on the sides, but those are now sealed up tight. I can't do anything to override this technology, so I won't be able to open those up."

"Hold on, kid," Rouge's voice blared from the speaker. "If you can't turn the force field off, and if you can't destroy it from the inside, then how is this even a plan?" Tails took a deep breath, trying to control his composure.

"I'm getting to that. I think I'll be able to blink the force field off for a maximum of two seconds, and then Shadow can send his energy bolts into the main circuitry just below the vent."

"But how are you going to mess with the force field? You just said you couldn't override this technology." Knuckles stated impatiently.

"I said I couldn't override it, not that I couldn't momentarily stop the energy flow that is powering the force field. It's not connected to the rest of the robot. The Chaos Emerald's energy flows directly into it, no wires or cables are plugged in. The energy then expands over the robot once it's refined and supercharged after flowing through the force field generator. I think I'll be able to withstand the energy for a few seconds, a direct cut off of power immediately effecting the entire force field"

"But how are you going to cut of the energy flow, exactly?" Sonic sounded concerned, like he already knew what the answer was going to be.

Tails dropped his head. "I'll have to stand in the way of the energy." He heard a lot of worried voices echoing throughout the robot. In truth, Tails wasn't sure if this would even work. But it was something that had to be done. Time was waning, the drones were most certainty almost all in place. It was now or never.

Tails clenched his fist and yelled into the receiver. "Alright, listen up! This is the only way, the only thing we have time for. If we don't do this now, then it'll all be over. I can do this. I'm counting on all of you. Shadow, the exhaust vent is unfortunately located just below the head on the back of the robot. Everyone else will have to distract the robot until we get the opportunity to attack. Got it?"

Sonic looked down, nervously shifting back and forth. He wanted to argue, wanted to tell them that this was not going to work, wishing that he could. But, he knew that Tails was right. It was time for him to let Tails handle it, just like he always did. Sonic clenched his fists, looking up sternly at the others.

"Well, you heard him. It's time to stop this nightmare menace once and for all."

One by one, they all nodded, confident expressions on their faces. "Shadow, Knuckles, and I will go directly to the top of the robot. Rouge, Amy, and Cream, you girls fly around that head, spinning it around in circles. We've only got one shot at this, so let's give it all we got." An affirmative cheer rose among them, everyone raising their fists high in the air.

 _I just hope its enough,_ Sonic thought as they raced off.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Amy watched from above as Cream carried her high in the air. She could see Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles speeding towards the war machine, its guns blazing in all there fury. She felt cold excitement as they steadily made their way towards their goal. It would take a miracle for this to work, but she was determined to give it her all. Rouge flew ahead of them, her eyes glued on the robot's head.

"Alright, kids, just follow my lead. Stay above the eye beam, but also stay close enough to it so that the scanner will still sense you. Or, you could just leave it to a skilled agent, if you want to go home now."

Amy and Cream fumed at her. "We're not going anywhere, Rouge. And we can handle ourselves." Amy fired back.

"And I'm a very skilled flyer, too. I want let us get hit." Cream flew a little faster to catch up with the rude bat, and Cheese chimed in with a loud string of indignant "chao's."

Rouge sighed and shrugged. "Ok, ok, fine. Just be careful. Those guys are depending on us." They flew as fast as they could, trying to keep up with the ground team so they could attack all at once.

"Rouge, be careful. Those long range missile launchers are about to fire at you. Get in close fast so they want be able to target you."

"Right, Shadow." Rouge glanced over her shoulder at the girls, whose faces told her that they had heard. "Time to get going, and fast." She angled herself slightly, thrusting her wings tightly back against her sides, rocketing ahead in a short burst of speed.

"Come on, Cream. You can do it." Cream flapped her ears as fast as she could, thrusting them forward a little faster, but they couldn't keep up with Rouge. Cheese latched on to Cream, trying to help her, but provided little support to their overall speed.

"Amy, I can't go any faster! What are we going to do?"

"Just keep it up! I'll stop those missiles before they reach us." She summoned her hammer, poising to throw it at the first sight of a missile. "I'm sure Rouge will help us, too." She added. Sure, Rouge was extremely hard to get along with, but she was also very skilled, and wouldn't let them fight all by themselves.

Up ahead, Rouge continued her angled dive, going as fast as she possibly could, before swooping back up, climbing higher and higher as the robot rose up before her. She looked back and sighed, seeing that her two partners were falling way behind. They would surely be caught up in the barrage of missiles at their current rate of speed.

"They've got guts, I'll give them that. But they certainly don't have the skill or speed to make it through this." Rouge sighed again, turning back towards the robot, which sat ominously beneath her. Then it happened, just as she had suspected. Six bursts of explosives fired from the side of the robot, the missiles flying up towards them at incredible speed. There smoke trails crisscrossed in the air as they hurled towards her.

Rouge hovered for a moment, angling herself into position. Three of the missiles were heading straight for her, one, two, tree, all in a row. Rouge clenched her fists, eyeing them with a determined look. The missiles were upon her in seconds, and at the last second, she shot up slightly, rushing forward and bounding off of the first one, sending it spiraling downward, and proceeded to flip upon the other two in like manner.

Rouge caught the air in her wings, stopping her momentum, and looked up just as the other three flew past her, headed towards Amy and Cream behind her. Rouge growled at them, knowing that she would never be able to reach them in time. All she could do was watch as the missiles zeroed in on their two small targets.

"Amy! There coming for us!" Cream started to panic, her flight pattern zigzagging as she tried her best to fly away. Amy jerked beneath her, her hammer swaying in her grasp.

"Cream! Just fly straight! I can do this!" Amy summoned another hammer, now wielding two of her infamous weapons. In a blink, the line of missiles were seconds away from them. Amy reared back and threw her first hammer as far as she could, striking the nose of the first missile, which spun back and struck the second missile behind it. A massive explosion followed, the force from the blast shaking Amy loose from Cream's grasp, and Cream was sent reeling backwards. "Amy!" she yelled as she flipped violently back into the air.

Amy screamed as she plummeted towards the ground, the air whipping all around her. As soon as her grip had slipped, she reared back and thew her other hammer into the air, hoping beyond hope that it would destroy the third missle before it crashed into Cream. A loud explosion answered her, but she could not celebrate, the ground rushing up to meet her.

"Gotcha," a voice said, and Amy felt something grasping her hands, slowing her fall gently.

"Rouge, "Amy cheered, smiling up at her. "Thanks, but don't think this means I'm quitting."

"Of course not," Rouge said smiling back. "You owe me one, though."

"Amy! You're ok! Thank goodness!" Cream fluttered up to them, her relief showing in a wide grin.

"We've got to hurry. More missiles will come if we don't get out of range. We have to make it to the head, now." Rouge hefted Amy up, grabbing her around the waist, and quickly aligned both of their bodies parallel to the ground so that Amy's extra wait would be evenly distributed and would not hinder her speed. Rouge then bolted towards the robot, its guns blazing, and Cream zoomed along behind her, able to keep close behind without having to carry Amy. They were closing in fast, and they could see that Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles were already making their ascent up to the top of the robot, electric blasts, blue streaks, and loud explosions marking their steady climb.

"Get ready. This is going to be fun." Amy and Cream nodded, readying themselves for the attack.

Sonic looked back as six missiles streaked through the air, heading at lighting speeds towards the flying trio. He looked to Shadow, who had just signaled Rouge of the danger, but his expression was unreadable. Shadow briefly glanced back at him, and Sonic got the slightest impression of concern, but also the tiniest air of confidence. They both knew that Rouge would be able to handle herself, but Amy and Cream…

Knuckles was right behind them, and also could sense the danger for the girls up above, but they had to keep moving. "Come on, they'll be fine. We need to get to the head fast." He huffed, a little harsher then he had meant to, clearly trying to hide his concern.

The robot loomed before them, blaster bullets firing everywhere. The air was superheated around them, and the noise from the firing guns was deafening. Knuckles immediately jumped on top of the leg, climbing up it at a rapid pace. Shadow loosed several Chaos Spears, striking all the guns in the area, and then running up the side in the brief moments that it took for the guns to be replaced.

Sonic looked back for a moment, eying the spot in the sky that was covered in several clouds of smoke. He strained to see, thinking that he had spotted a few tiny figures closing in high above. He sighed, and then quickly began his own ascent, spinning from one missile launcher to another, taking them out for a moment to give his friends the time they needed to get out of range.

Sonic reached the top moments after Shadow, and Knuckles arrived in short order, the three of them standing on top of the huge head. "Tails, we're ready," Shadow announced. He had already found the vent, hardly visible, right beneath them where the head attached to the body.

"Alright, we have to time this perfectly," Tails said, looking over to the force field generator. The beam of energy from the Chaos Emeralds flowed through the cylinder, striking the huge computer at the center. Tails was worried that this wouldn't work, but he tried to sound as confident as possible. He looked over at Silver, the white hedgehog still slumped over on the floor, looking completely drained. Tails clenched his fists. They would stop this robot, one way or another.

"Shadow, I wont be able to signal you from my communicator, so as soon as I say 'now', get ready to see the slightest change in the robot, like a glitch or something. That will be the only time that this will work. I wish my transmitter would reach, but I can't unplug it from the computer, so, ahh oh no!" Tails shielded his eyes as the Chaos Emeralds suddenly lit up, blinding energy pouring out and striking the crystal. The waves of energy spiraled up the cylinder, the psychic force of energy shooting up to power the nightmare canon in the head. Silver shrieked in agony as he was swallowed up in the blinding light.

"Tails, what's wrong? What-" Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles jolted as the head began to move beneath them, heating up in temperature at an incredible rate.

"Sonic! The robot is powering up for another nightmare beam! It must be getting ready to fire on the satellite, but its protocol will likely make it target any one in its way first. Be careful!"

Sonic shifted from one foot to another, the heat getting unbearable. "Talk about a hot foot. We've got to get off of here and wait by the vent. Knuckles and I will hold it back as best we can, if we can, so get-" Wham! Sonic jumped back as a huge hammer struck the robot right at his feet. Still shocked, he looked out and saw Rouge, Cream and Amy flying in the distance.

"Sorry, Sonic!" Amy faintly called, waving. Shadow and Knuckles crossed their arms and rolled their eyes.

Sonic cleared his throat, trying his best to remain cool and collected. "She was trying to get the robots attention. Good plan. It didn't scare me or anything, I saw it coming." He laughed feebly, but he knew they weren't buying it, so he quickly focused back on the mission. "Tell Rouge and the girls to keep the sensor pointed towards the city. Keep an eye out for the beam. It could fire at any minute."

Shadow relayed the message to his fellow agent, who responded with a playful laugh. "Of course, sweetie. It's not like I was planning on flying right into the beam's path, or anything. And tell Knucky to play nice, alright." Sonic held back a laugh, but a wide grin formed on his face. Rouge had just flustered both of them at once, and he had found it very entertaining.

Knuckles turned redder than usual, practically steaming. "What do you mean play nice!? What are you even talking about!?" Shadow merely grunted, briefly losing that unreadable glare and looking a tiny bit embarrassed, if that was even possible.

"Come on, guys. We've got a job to do. Besides, my feet are smoking so let's go." Sonic grinned once more at them, and then raced across the moving head until he jumped off of the edge and leaned against the side of the dome for support. Shadow and Knuckles landed beside him, backing up against the dome as it moved behind them.

Shadow stood close to the vent, only a few feet away from the head, the opening about as big as a basketball, while Sonic and Knuckles began to push against the head with all their might as it slowly began spinning towards them. He looked behind him, down at all of the bullets firing beneath him, seemingly miles away from the ground. "Tails, I'm read-"

"Wait!" Rouge sharply interrupted him, her voice clearly concerned. She had seen the sensor began to light up, and it was turning quickly around to where Shadow and the rest were standing. She zoomed in low, Amy beneath her. "Get ready to throw that hammer of yours. We can't let it turn on them."

Amy aimed her hammer at the sensor, throwing it with all her might. It struck home, and the head stopped rotating towards Sonic, but it whipped back to fire at them instead. Read light filled her eyes, but Rouge shot up just in time, Amy's feet only inches away from the blast. "Cutting it a little close, huh," She growled her heart pounding.

Slightly to the left, and a good ways higher, Cream held Cheese like a football, launching him straight towards the red beam. Cheese screamed with determination as he flew, striking the eye with tremendous force. The beam did not give him any nightmares, but it did seem to weaken him a little and he couldn't recover from the crash, falling away towards the ground.

"Cheese!" Cream wailed, tucking her ears back and diving at an angle towards him. She flew past the beam, narrowly avoiding it as she raced towards her friend. Cheese managed to flutter a little, giving Cream enough time to scoop him up before they both would have plunged into the firing bullets below. "Are you alright?" she asked holding him close as she made her way back up to Amy and Rouge.

Cheese blinked for a moment, but he smiled up at her and chao'd in a reassuring tone. "I'm sorry, Cheese. That could've been worse. I'm glad you're ok."

"Cream, is Cheese alright? That beam must have affected him after all." Amy sighed when she saw the little Chao was ok.

"Amy, hammer! Now!" Rouge spun around to help Amy build up tremendous force, and the hammer sailed to hit its mark. But the red beam moved quickly through the air, the head spinning back towards Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles. The hammer struck, but the head did not stop spinning. "Shadow, look out! The beam is spinning right towards you!"

Knuckles and Sonic pushed against the head with all of their might but they slid back as the head spun around. Knuckles gritted his teeth, and in one swift motion, he turned from his hold on the robot, punched at Sonic, sending him flying up, and then dove towards Shadow, knocking him off of the robot. The beam struck less than a second later, engulfing him in its scarlet rays.

"Argh!" Knuckles shielded his eyes with one of his fists, the blinding light swallowing up everything around him. A chilling cold surrounded him, and the noise from the guns had died away, leaving him in total silence. He didn't know what to expect once the beam hit, but already he was losing his touch with reality, the nightmare effect taking hold of his mind.

The red ray finally vanished, and Knuckles was in total darkness Loneliness crept upon him like a chilling rain, and he tried desperately to fight it off. He was always alone. He couldn't afford to let it bother him. To eat away at him. Ever since he could remember he had been alone, and he had excepted it. His duty to guard the Master Emerald was his life, it was all he had, and he had done so to the best of his ability, letting nothing stand in his way.

Knuckles shook slightly, but he fought off the coldness, looking around at the darkness. He clenched his fists, trying to stop the innermost fears of his soul from rising up inside of him, threatening to consume him.

The darkness suddenly lightened to a dim gray, and Knuckles jumped, his nerves on edge. He caught a brief glimpse of something in the distance. "Hey, Sonic!?" He yelled, recognizing the blue hedgehog in the mist. A moment later, he saw another figure briefly come into view. "Tails?"

Knuckles felt the loneliness rise up to another level. Ever since he had met Sonic and Tails, his life had changed. Sure, they were a very pesky bunch, and it had taken him a long time get used to them, but. They had become his best friends. His only friends. They had shown up one day, and he had realized just how lonely he really was, though he tried to keep it buried deep inside. He couldn't let them see it. The guardian of the Master Emerald could not have any weaknesses, anything that would hinder his duty. But somehow he had let them get to him, to talk him into going on all of their stupid adventures, getting sucked in to all of their ridiculous schemes.

Knuckles put his hands to his head, squeezing his skull to stop himself from thinking. He furiously yelled out to the mist, hoping to chase away those ghostly figures. He looked up as he heard his voice echoing out, seemingly clearing the mist away. He stared ahead, straining to see. All of a sudden, a bright orange light ignited in the distance. Knuckles ran towards it, hoping that he would find answers there.

As he approached the light source, an eerie feeling of familiarity hung about him. His surroundings were unnervingly blurry and out of focus, but the light glowed brightly up ahead. It suddenly morphed into a huge blaze of fire, and his surroundings became more distinct. Knuckles halted and gaped up at the fire with horror.

He was standing at the bottom of the alter on Angel Island, and it was on fire. A raging inferno that burned upon everything. The pillars, the ground, the stones. Nothing except the stairway to the top escaped the flames. The stairway was untouched by the flames, eerily beckoning him to climb to the top.

"No, no!" Knuckles cried. The only thing he could do was make a mad dash up to the top, leaping up the stairs in desperation. What had he done? He had let his guard down, and now his home was burning. He slowed his pace as he reached the top, almost to disheartened to continue.

He finally stood atop the alter, the Master Emerald shattered at his feet, the seven pillars knocked down and broken. Knuckles fell to his knees, cradling a shard from the green gem in his hands. He sat in silence for a moment, but then a furious, anguished scream rose up into his lungs, his cry shooting into the sky, filling the air with the rage of his failure. Knuckles could no longer feel the life force of the Emerald. This time he would not be able to fix his mistake. He had utterly failed.

"Knuckles."

Knuckles started, jumping to his feet, and angrily spun around, daring whoever was there to come any closer. But he lowered his fists when he saw a timid looking echidna girl standing at the top of the stairs. Knuckles blinked at her. She seemed so familiar. Her peach quills and tribal garb reminded him of something that he had seen before, maybe in a dream.

"Knuckles, how did you let this happen? You were trusted with this task, and you have failed us. Now the world will have no protection from the Chaos that will come." The echidna girl stared at him with hollow and cold eyes. Sadness and anger blended in her gaze as well.

Knuckles suddenly realized who she was. "Tikal? But, I don't understand. How are you here? What happened?" Tikal frowned at him, shaking her head.

"Knuckles, you have failed us. I was bound to the Master Emerald for centuries. Never once did I feel its life force slip away, not even with the sadness and destruction of Chaos inside of it." She paused, walking eerily over to the shards and picking one up in her hands. "But now, because of your lack of diligence and sense of duty, the life of the Master Emerald has been completely depleted."

Tikal then threw the shard back onto the pile, and the broken pile of gems burst into flames. She stood up slowly, turning to face him, the fire silhouetting her in a menacing halo. She began to chant the prayer she had taught him in a cold, almost mocking tone

"The seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers. Our hearts intensify their power. The controller serves to unify the chaos."

Her words stabbed into Knuckles heart, and he was overcome by grief. He fell to his knees, the Master Emerald burning and lifeless before him, his ancestor mocking and ridiculing him with the very chant that he had used to breathe life into the Emerald. But now those words were empty and meaningless, nothing but a shameful reminder of his ultimate failure.

Over and over Tikal chanted her sacred prayer, each time louder and more condescending, anger lacing each syllable. Knuckles pounded his fists on the ground, shaking in agony, and then he was falling and falling and falling.

Sonic flew up into the air, the unexpected force knocking the wind out of him. A red beam fired beneath his feet as he continued to rise into the air. He finally gathered his wits together, realizing what had happened. "Knuckles!" Sonic quickly began spinning, aiming for the head and rocketing forward. He landed and ran towards the beam, looking over the edge, but the echidna was not there. "Shoot! He must have fallen off."

"Go get him. I can handle this myself." Sonic glanced over at Shadow, nodding for a moment before running to the opposite side of the beam and leaping off of the edge, making his way quickly down.

"Shadow, what's happening? We have to do this, now. The nightmare ray is charging up to maximum levels. It's gonna fire in minutes!" Shadow looked down at his wrist transmitter.

"Just tell me when. Rouge, you've got to get this ray away from the vent." He watched Amy throwing a barrage of hammers at the head, while Cream circled around to the other side, trying to lead the sensor away. Wham, wham, wham!

"Doing the best we can, but this thing is almost as stubborn as you are." Shadow felt the head moving beneath him, the heat starting to seep through his shoes. He would have to wait up here until Tails gave him the signal. He couldn't risk being sensed again.

"Get ready, Shadow!" Tails warned. He took several deep breaths, not knowing what was about to happen. He didn't know exactly what all of that Chaos energy would do to him, if he would even be able to stop it. But he had to do it, there was no time. He glared at the bright stream of energy, his face twisting into a fierce frown. "Now!"

Tails jumped ahead, his tails spinning behind him, pushing him faster and faster, the bright beam glowing in front of him. He yelled as he leapt into its path, torrents of electric energy coursing through his body. He screamed, convulsing violently as his body repelled the source of energy from reaching the generator.

Shadow jumped down, the head turning just enough to barely unblock the vent. The red beam glowed in front of him, only inches away. Shadow summoned a great blast of energy to his fingertips, holding it there until the right moment. He eyed the vent intently, until a brief flicker of greenish light flashed over the surface of the robot, before dissipating and spreading away, like the force field had been suddenly washed off.

"Chaos Spear!"

Tails' body shook like a ragdoll until the sheer force of the energy flung him away, smashing him into a computer on the opposite side of the room. Half a second later, a bright bolt of yellow energy fired down from the top of the robot, streaking like lighting until it struck the generator before the stream of chaos energy had a chance to reach it. The generator exploded, machine parts flying everywhere, the noise deafening. But Shadow's Chaos Spear was not done yet, spreading its electric assault unto every computer and machinery near the generator, causing a chain reaction of loud explosions.

Shadow felt the robot shake beneath him, the deafening explosions inside telling him that he had hit his mark. The robot's guns stopped firing, and the red beam flickered on and off until it finally shut completely down. Shadow warped back down to the ground just as the robots legs gave way from under it, and it slowly collapsed, several small explosions running along its body.

"Tails? Can you hear me?" Shadow questioned, unable, for once, to hide the concern in his voice. Rouge, Amy, and Cream landed next to him, and Sonic zipped over to them with Knuckles thrown over his shoulder. He set the echidna on the ground, and Knuckles started to stir, sitting up with difficulty.

"What? What, happened? Did we-"But his words faltered as he watched the robot finally come to a complete stop, legs splayed beneath, its lifeless head's dull red eye staring at them in disbelief.

"Tails!" Sonic very nearly broke the speed barrier as he launched himself towards the defeated hunk of metal, not stopping until he had ran up to the top of its huge body. Sonic fought hard to keep the panic in his stomach from breaking through and consuming him. He tried to calm his breathing as he looked around for any weak spot that he could exploit to get inside, but just because this monster was defeated didn't mean that it was in any way less impenetrable then it had been moments ago.

Sonic felt a sudden gust of wind, and didn't bother looking back at Shadow. "I'll bet that if we stopped time around this area of the robot, and then beat on it to build up its kinetic energy, it would bust wide open the moment time was resumed." Shadow considered this for a moment, pulling out his Chaos Emerald and feeling the pulsing power within.

"It might work, Sonic. But now that the force field is gone, I see no reason why we cant just teleport inside." Sonic blinked back at Shadow for a moment, the black hedgehog giving him the "isn't it obvious" sort of look.

Sonic shook his head. "Yeah, that'll work out better." Then his eyes shifted past Shadow, and his face wrinkled in horror. "Oh, shoot! We forgot all about Station Square." They both looked at the city, the drone still functioning, its red beams still spider-webbing over the area. The red glow was so gloomy and eerie that it looked almost otherworldly.

"Let's get Tails and that other hedgehog out, first." Shadow held his Emerald high. "Chaos Control!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

A serge of tingling energy washed over the two hedgehogs, Chaos Control ripping them from their spot on top of the robot, and instantly reassembling them inside of the ruined machine. "Tails!" Sonic looked around in growing despair at the destruction around him. Everywhere, broken and burning heaps of metal and computer parts were piled, smoldering and destroyed. Smoke was everywhere, and a loud beeping filled the air, the last of the power of one of the computers, no doubt.

Sonic raced through the pile of rubble, calling out to Tails repeatedly. Shadow sped the other way, both hedgehogs running close to the wall, starting from the edge of the room and then working their way towards the center. Tails could be anywhere, and they did not want to miss him.

Sonic stopped abruptly on his third loop around. Had he heard something? Sonic listened intently, his eyes darting everywhere. Shadow approached him, also on his third trip around, and Sonic held up his hand. Shadow stopped a few feet from him.  
"I heard something, over there." Sonic pointed towards the remains of a huge computer, the monitor lying over the control pad. Sonic silently zipped over to the debris, peering underneath. He gasped, calling Shadow over to help. The hedgehogs lifted the screen off the ground with little difficulty, tossing it aside with a loud crash.

"Tails!" Sonic knelt down beside the fox, who was crumpled face down on the remains of the computer. His fur was riddled with dirt and debris. Burns and cuts marred his body, and he looked very cold and still. Sonic gently turned him over, wincing in pain.

"Hey, buddy, can you hear me?" he said trying to keep his voice strong. Shadow stood beside them in silence. He rubbed the ring on his wrist, fearing that he had caused too much damage this time. If anything happened to Tails, it would be because of him. Because he hadn't been able to limit his destructive powers enough. But it had been the only way, right?

Sonic tenderly cradled the fox in his arms, lifting him off of the wreckage. Both hedgehogs were semi-relieved when they heard him groan. At least that was a sign. "Alright, bro, I'm getting you out of here. You're going to be just fine." Sonic began carrying him away, but looked back when Shadow didn't follow. "You coming?"

"You take care of Tails. I'll go and get that future pest and the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. Then we can warp out of here." Sonic nodded and headed off to find a good spot to set Tails down and tend to him while he waited.

Shadow felt a strong amount of Chaos energy pulling him towards the center of the robot. He had to be careful to keep the Emeralds power under control. Getting careless with the limitless power of all seven Chaos Emeralds was something that he wasn't going to do.

"Hey, have you found the kid yet? Is everything alright in there?" Shadow looked at his wrist as he made his way towards the cylindrical dome in the middle of the room.

"He's injured, but he's alive. I'm getting Silver and the Emeralds, and then we'll all warp out." Shadow rolled his eyes as Rouge began going off on a long fantasy about those seven beautiful gems.

Sonic placed Tails down on a cleared section of the floor just a few paces after Shadow had left to get Silver. Tails moaned again, but his eyes still remained tightly shut. Sonic ruffled his fur gently, sitting down beside him. There was nothing he could do but wait. He let his eyes wander over to a huge computer to the right, the one that was causing that irritating beeping sound. Something, a distorted image, was flickering on the screen. Curious, he eased away from Tails, wanting to see what was on display. A tiny amount of backup energy of some kind must be giving off the last of its power, keeping this computer alive for a few moments longer.

A red warning sign flashed dimly on the screen, a few other words written beneath it. Sonic strained to see what they said, suddenly having a bad feeling about this. Along the screen was displayed numerous energy charts and power bars, but they were all depleted. No power remained on any of the current databases. Sonic sighed. Once this computer cut off, this hunk of junk would be completely shut down. Still, the warning flashed before him threateningly. What could it be warning against?

Sonic jumped up on the control panel, getting as close to the words as he could. He slowly read them, with some difficulty, his eyes widening in fear as each word became legible: Warning! Final Emerald approaching. Begin transformation sequence. Ultimate Power Form activation in progress. Power levels almost at full capacity. Warning!

Shadow put his hand on the dome, glancing around at the Chaos Emeralds, still sitting on top of the pillars circling the crystal inside. Silver lay crumpled in the center of the crystal, lying face down, his quills drooping. He looked weak and utterly depleted of his strength. Shadow felt an unexpected amount of sympathy for him, realizing now just what Silver had actually been through.

Shadow stepped back from the dome a little, and then curled into a spin attack, building up his speed before rocketing towards the glass with tremendous force.

"Shadow! Stop!" Sonic yelled from behind, but Shadow couldn't stop at this rate, and his body crashed through the dome with little resistance. He landed and rolled to his feet, spinning around to see what Sonics' warning had been about.

Sudden and intense pain shot throughout his body, and he fell to his knees roaring in pain. The Chaos Emerald in his quills began shooting waves of electrifying energy across his body. Glowing brightly, it fell to the ground. The six other Chaos Emeralds also started glowing and shooting out superheated energy bolts all around the dome. They continued to charge up, the energy beams contained to the space around them. The air was so tensed with electricity that Shadow could hardly breathe. Sonic rushed in and grabbed him, both hedgehogs stumbling out of the dome just as a massive wave of energy fired at the crystal behind them.

The crystal shook from the force of the blast, the whole robot beginning to shake. The light was so bright, Shadow and Sonic couldn't look straight at the crystal for long. But they both caught a glimpse of something glowing golden in the center of the crystal. They looked at each other in horror. The Seven Chaos Emeralds had triggered a massive energy spike, so powerful that it had caused Silver to transform into super mode. Now his powers were amplified a hundred-fold, and the nightmare fuel that he was charging would be unstoppable if it reached the satellite.

An enormous beam of energy fired up the cylinder, shooting up to the top like a rocket. The dome shook from the force of the blast, the whole robot feeling as if would soon fall to pieces. The two hedgehogs steadied themselves, feeling the intense pulse of the chaos energy swirling in front of them. The dome finally could take no more, and it exploded, raining glass down on top of them, the ray of energy free to engulf them in its vibrant intensity.

Sonic had felt the power of the Seven Chaos Emeralds multiple times, but this time it was like their energy was supercharged. His body was swallowed up by the energy, the shock of power swirling within almost too much to bear. He writhed on the ground, barely able to think. The blast of energy lasted what seemed like forever, then it abruptly cut off, the extent of Silver's power thoroughly exhausted.

Sonic could still feel the chaos energy around him, the Emeralds still glowing in front of him. He knew that he had absorbed all of the energy that had engulfed him, and that it wouldn't take much to transform into super mode. He stood up, Shadow also getting up beside him, and looked blearily up to the top of where the dome used to be.

A loud mechanical noise was coming from up there, like metal against metal, loud and meticulous. Something was moving up there, the hedgehogs straining to see what was lurking out of their reach. Then, a dozen snake like arms fell from the ceiling, hanging just above their heads. They were huge, like the robot's legs, jointed and with three-toed claws on the end. They dangled for a moment, before lifting slowly up, whatever they were attached to rising up above them.

Then, like a plug that had just been suddenly yanked out, the head of the robot lifted out of place, daylight pouring in from the hole that it left in ceiling. With little doubt, it was off to charge up the satellite. Sonic looked up, watching the tentacles disappear, knowing that it had to be stopped. But Tails and Silver were in bad shape. They needed him, too. Silver's golden glow was ebbing, leaving him crumpled on the floor where the crystal used to be, the shattered shards laying strewn about. And Tails was still seriously injured, still lying back over by the control computer.

The overwhelming flood of energy inside him was rising up, consuming him, making his decision even more difficult. If he didn't act now, then it would be too late. The nightmare fuel was on its way, the whole world was at stake. Sonic grabbed his head, torn.

Shadow felt the energy swirling, mixing with his own, creating so a tremendous amount of power inside him that he needed to transform, and fast, before he was engulfed by it. He looked over at Sonic, saw the conflict in his face. But they had no choice.

"Sonic, we have to transform, now," he said, his voice shaking from the rage of energy inside him. Sonic looked back at him for a moment. He saw Shadow already beginning to turn golden, sparks of energy flying off of him. Shadow looked fiercely at him, his red eyes glowing. He blinked, sparks flying off of himself as well. What should he do?

"Sonic, go, hurry." A small voice behind him. He whipped around, seeing a little fox crawling up the debris toward him. He gave a reassuring nod, still looking bruised and burned, but confident. "I did my part. Now you do yours." That was all Sonic needed. He beamed at his little brother, giving him his signature thumbs up. He wouldn't let him down. This nightmare business was about to end, permanently.

Sonic looked at Shadow. They nodded. Then they loosed the floodgates of the chaos energy that they had absorbed, along with the rest of the energy from the still charged Chaos Emeralds, allowing themselves to be swallowed up in the powerful surge, their bodies glowing fiercely golden as they flew off to stop the head before it reached the satellite.

"Calm down already, Knuckles. Your little gem is just fine." Rouge sighed. Her and the girls had spent the last five minutes listening to that echidna rant about the Master Emerald, courtesy of his nightmare episode. Knuckles paced back and forth, mumbling to himself, swinging his arms in the air.

"I've been away too long. What if anything happens to it. I have to protect it. I've got to go back to Angel Island, now." He began stomping off towards his home, but Cream jumped in the way.

"Mr. Knuckles, stop. We need you here. It was only a dream. We all know that you wouldn't let anything happen to the Master Emerald. You never have." She smiled up at him, Cheese hovering close by, smiling.

"Yeah, Knuckles, you always manage to protect that gem…even when it gets broken to pieces." Rouge snickered as Knuckles continued to grumble.

"They should be coming back soon, right?" Amy asked. It had been only minutes since Rouge last spoke to Shadow. "I hope Tails is ok. And Silver, too." She shook her head, looking over to the red glow enveloping Station Square. "At least it's all over. All that's left is to get rid of those drone things once and for-"

A loud noise sounded from the previously dormant robot, causing them to jolt to attention. The massive body began to quiver, vibrating slightly but obviously for some unknown reason.

"What have those hedgehogs done, now?" Knuckles muttered, staring intently. The head of the robot began to move, slowly back and forth, twisting a few feet in each direction, before spinning faster and faster in full circles. The red beam that they had thought they would never see again, blinked on, firing more brightly and intensely than they had seen it before.

It spun around and around, lifting higher and higher, like it was unscrewing itself from the body. Then it came to a stop, looking as if it only had inches left before it completely detached itself. The red beam fired steadily toward the city, but harmlessly shone in the air, not hitting any major points in the distance. They all held there breath. It was obviously waiting for something.

"What should we do?" Cream whispered. "I'm scared. What's going to happen?"

She held Cheese tight, her eyes reflecting the red light in the distance. But no one answered. The head began rising up from the body, climbing into the air, at least a dozen tentacle like legs dangling from beneath. It ascended steadily in the sky, sparks and electric energy bolts suddenly flying off of it, like it was overcharged, and the energy was bursting from its seams.

"Oh, no, the satellite!" Rouge wailed in sudden realization. "That thing looks like it's about to explode from power. If it charges the satellite, it will be unstoppable." They watched in grim fixation as the head flew farther and farther into the atmosphere, the red beam piercing the gray sky.

"Look!" Cream grabbed Amy's arm, gasping and pointing back down at the robot. Two small figures, glowing an impossible bright gold, flew out of the robot, flying towards the now barely visible head at great speed.

"Alright, Sonic! I know you can do it!" Amy cheered, pumping her fist.

"Teach that hunk of junk a lesson, Shadow," Rouge shouted enthusiastically. They all cheered as they watched there only hope of winning disappear into the cold vacuum of space.

The black void of space enveloped them, like a cold blanket, a few stars twinkling as the flew by. Up ahead they could see the monstrous head, sparkling with electric bolts, its tentacles streaming behind it. The red ray shone ahead of it, like a search light, guiding it to its target. The two super hedgehogs flew straight at it, trying to reach it before it could get to the satellite.

Shadow caught a brief glimpse of the moon in the distance, only half of it glowing. He gritted his teeth, not bothering to look for the weapon that had caused such damage. He knew it was out there somewhere, the space colony where he had been created, the place where he had lost everything. But he couldn't let himself get distracted with such fear. The past was in the past. The future was at stake here, and he was not going to let another one of Gerald Robotnik's experiments be used for evil purposes ever again.

The satellite came into view, just ahead of the beam. In mere seconds, it would be super charged, radiating too much energy for possibly even the supers to stop.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic and Shadow both teleported at the same time, the satellite appearing before them, just as the ray shone upon it. They both blasted straight through the satellite, a massive explosion in there wake as bits of machine flew everywhere. They turned to see what the head would do now that its target was merely floating space debris, the light of the explosion shielding it from view.

A red beam of light shot out from the wreckage, blasting straight for them. They dodged to either side, the ray firing between them menacingly. The head emerged before them, somehow looking even bigger and more powerful. Its eyebeam lessened to a bright glow, and it floated before them, almost daring them to make a move.

Sonic glared back intently, eying it for any possible signs of weakness. It should have stopped its assault, right? With the satellite gone, it now had no directive, no purpose anymore. What was it doing? Sonic blinked. It just now dawned on him what he had seen on the warning screen.

"That warning I saw. It said something about an ultimate power transformation," he said to Shadow. "The future Eggman must have installed some sort of final programming into the AI. It only needed the satellite without all Seven Chaos Emeralds. But now it doesn't because it already has all the power, and doesn't have to keep charging the satellite. The head is going to charge up the drones itself. We have to stop it."

Shadow nodded fiercely. They both enveloped themselves in a bright surge of energy, the power of the Chaos Emeralds still more than sufficient for them to attack with an all out assault. They took off, an explosive sonic boom echoing throughout the stars as the rocketed towards the massive head. Faster than thought, the head was looming immediately before them. But, equally as fast, something slammed into them, sending them flying back with tremendous force, spinning in dizzying circles before they came to a slow halt.

Sonic shook his head, floating lazily about, trying to regain his focus. Surely that robot couldn't have countered their attack, at the speed they were going. Wham! Before Sonic could think, something huge clamped hold of him, squeezing him dangerously tight, jerking him around in a sporadic whirlwind. Sonic unleashed a powerful blast of chaos energy, but felt no relief from the attack, the stars whirling about him in a sickening rollercoaster.

Suddenly, the jerking stopped, but he was still being relentlessly squashed by a huge metal claw. Sonic stared up at the huge, ominous red glow of the head's eye, a giant, menacingly powerful monster hovering before him. The other legs were poised for the attack, stretched out to the sides like tentacles, literally radiating with energy, sparks flying off them with popping sounds. Sonic stared defiantly up at it, thinking of a way to break free. He looked over to his right, and Shadow was in a similar predicament in the distance.

Sonics' arms were pinned to his side, and he tried with all of his might to free himself from the claws grasp. He should easily be able to defeat this machine, but its power and chaos energy output was unprecedented. It seemed that its power was equal to his own, and their chaos energy powers repelled each other with relentless force.

"Shadow!" Sonic waited to see if the dark hedgehog had heard him, seeing him turn in his direction. "We have to try Chaos Control together!" Shadow nodded, and they both summoned a massive amount of chaos energy, yelling "Chaos Control" with one voice.

Shadow felt the energy envelope him, drawing more power from Sonics' efforts. But something went wrong. The usual tingling of energy was more like an electric bolt, wracking his body with convulsions. He grunted in pain, seeing the claw around him shimmer with a bright light. It was as if the robot was countering their attempts to use the chaos energy to teleport, repelling it with an equal and opposite blast of energy of its own power.

The backfire of energy left the two hedgehogs momentarily drained, and they were unable to attempt anything else for a few seconds. The robot spun its red eye away from them, eyeing the blue planet below. It made a few metallic beeps before rapidly descending towards earth, the two glowing hedgehogs still tightly caught in its grasp.

Shadow desperately struggled to orient himself, feeling his reserve energy rising up to the surface. This was impossible, but there was no time to assert logic into the problem. They needed something equally impossible if they were going to stop this monster before it reached the planet.

"Sonic!" The blue hedgehog looked over, just beginning to arouse himself from the energy drain. "Remember that stupid kinetic energy idea you had earlier?" Sonic gave Shadow a confused look.

"You mean the one about stopping time and building up kinetic energy to break through the robot's body and get to Tails and Silver?" Sonics' confusion quickly turned to an amused smile. "But you just said it was stupid."

"It is. But it will be something this robot will not be ready for. If we use Chaos Control to stop time, instead of teleporting, there is a good chance that it will not be able to counter our chaos energy until it has a chance to recalibrate its own use of Chaos Control."

Sonic rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed on his face. "Sheesh, you could've made that explanation a lot shorter, but if you really think my brilliant plan will work, then let's do it."

The two hedgehogs focused their energy towards the claws that tightly held them, releasing a massive bolt of Chaos Control that would stop time, rather than teleport through space. This time they felt no resistance, and the robot did not seem to notice the isolated time stop, still speeding down to the planet below. Sonic and Shadow went to work, pushing, kicking, and building up as much kinetic energy as they could before the time stop was over.

Several things happened in rapid succession. The time stop wore off, and the sudden release of kinetic energy blew the claws open with massive force. Sonic and Shadow went flying, the force of the blast stronger than they had thought, and then a red ray suddenly blazed towards them. Then, as they narrowly dodged the beam, a dozen metallic claws shot towards them, clutching at them with fierce strikes.

"I think we got its attention," Sonic huffed as he flew haphazardly about, dodging the tentacles and trying to avoid the laser beam. "Now what? It obviously has a lot more chaos energy than we do, _and_ it can counter us if it knows what we're doing. I guess we'll just have to keep it busy until it runs out of energy. It knows it has to stop us if it wants to complete its mission. So I hope your as good of a dodger as me, faker."

Shadow would have shot him an annoyed look if he wasn't busy tangling up a half dozen tentacles. Sonic may be right, though. This thing had been charging up ever since it got here. And that must have tripled when all Seven Emeralds had blasted it. He and Sonic would run out of energy long before this machine would, however. They had to stop it before they ran out of chaos energy. Shadow finished entangling the tentacles in his immediate vicinity, and then reached for his limiter rings, feeling his reserve energy rise to the maximum level. Maybe he could at least damage it enough to give Sonic a fighting chance.

Shadow started to remove the rings, but Sonic flew up in his face and yanked his hands away. "Hey, are you crazy, you know that want make a difference." Shadow glared at him for a moment, but he nodded slowly.

"I know, but I have to do something. We can't wait any longer. If we lose all of our energy before it does, and we will, there will be no stopping it." Sonic nodded in solemn agreement. He could already feel his own energy waning, slowly but steadily. They had to make it lose its energy, or at least enough to do some real damage. It loomed before them, its read eye staring in anger, tentacles wound around each other squirming to break free. It even seemed to be screaming at them in frustration, a loud screeching coming from its general direction.

A moment of realization hit them both. They looked at each other with grim resolve. An unspoken agreement passed between them. They knew what they had to do. It was the only way.

If they could get the robot to fire its beam on them, and keep firing, than they would be able to drain its energy at the source.

They turned and flew back a ways, providing a clear path for the robot to strike them. They watched solemnly as the massive eye stared straight at them, almost daring them to make a move. The tentacles finally untangled themselves, hanging below the eye like an octopus, the claws snapping menacingly. Sonic and Shadow released a minute amount of energy, causing there bodies to glow even brighter, two shimmering targets against the black of space.

The eye gleamed an eerie crimson, the light getting brighter and brighter as the beam sailed through the stars towards them. Scarlet filled their vision, but they did not shrink away as the nightmares consumed them, ten-times more powerful than the first onslaught they had faced. The unbearable aloneness was the first sensation, and only by sheer force of will were they able to withstand it. The red ray never left them, reminding them that they would hopelessly be alone forever.

Nightmarish and unforgiving sounds and images surrounded them. Sonic clamped his hands to his ears, trying to desperately block out the accusing words of dozens of disappointed and angry voices. He saw before him hundreds of different people and scenes, all of which he had failed those that he cared about most.

Over and over he saw Tails' broken body, over and over he failed to save him. He saw Amy laying in the dirt, still clutching her hammer, her eyes wide in fear and disbelief, her stare penetrating into Sonics' soul like fire. In another scene, he saw a frightened little rabbit, her dress ripped and caked with dirt, huddled in a corner, begging for help, her screams ringing in his head with relentless force. Sonic screamed in agony, the overwhelming sense of failure and helplessness taking hold of him. He fell to his knees, the invisible space beneath him cold and hard. The echoing voices pounded in his head, and he thought his brain would explode from the pressure. But, he would not give in this time. This time, whether it was the power of the Chaos Emeralds, or his own newfound strength and resolve he would not let his fears get the better of him. He clenched his fists, banging them on the space beneath, and suddenly rose to his feet, taking the full onslaught of the ray, feeling the energy around him growing weaker, knowing that it was almost time to strike back.

Shadow was swallowed up in a sea of nightmares, the images and sounds all around him weighing him down like an anchor. He could hardly breath, feeling as if he were drowning. Over and over, he could hear the gunshot that took Maria from him, could feel the pain of searing loss anew, the guilt that he had to bare rekindling inside him with unbound fury. He clutched his head, agony rising up inside him. He saw his creator, Professor Robotnik, standing over him, looking down at him as if he was little more than an animal, an experiment with no soul. He heard him disdainfully explain that he was nothing more than a weapon, a government project that had gone wrong, blaming him for the death of his beloved granddaughter. Shadow trembled in anguish, his body wracked with pain and guilt. But this time, he forced himself to resist, forced himself to regain his focus. This time, he would not let himself be taken over by all of the lies and fears that he had constantly told himself. He tensed, feeling the energy of the beam waning, feeling his own energy rekindled. It was time to end this once and for all.

The two hedgehogs moved as one, not being able to see each other, but both sensing with absolute certainty that it was time to strike. They raced off, flying straight through the scarlet ray, the nightmares intensifying with every heart-pounding moment they got closer. But they did not slow down, charging fiercely and directly towards the source, like shooting stars in the night. They charged up their energy as they flew, the chaos energy wracking their bodies with unimaginable power. The beam stopped just as they reached the eye, the menacing sensor staring at them in disbelief as they blasted straight through its core, a massive explosion enveloping them as the robot was consumed in a raging inferno.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"Well, that takes care of that," Knuckles said as he landed next to Rouge, brushing his hands together with a satisfied grin. "Hey, Amy, you've got to lend me some of those hammers. They pack quite a punch, especially if you really know how to use them." He ignored Amy's furious expression after implying that she did not know how to use her hammer. The red echidna had just returned from the city after he had expertly and powerfully hurled one of Amy's hammers at the drone hovering over Station Square, liberating the inhabitants from their nightmarish prison. "So, how are they doing?"

"They'll live," Rouge stated in her usual unconcerned tone, but a trace of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, as if she was actually glad of the fact. "I have to admit that that little fox is pretty tough." She added, glancing over at Tails, who was sitting up and talking casually with Cream. The girls had went in and got Silver and Tails out of the robot while Knuckles had taken off to destroy the drone, and now they were all waiting at the base of the massive robot for Sonic and Shadow to return.

Knuckles crossed his arms, looking intently up into the sky. "What's taking so long? I hope those guys can handle it. Why don't you try to contact them again?" He looked over to Rouge, finding her shaking her head, his concern for his friends coming off in his impatience. "Can't you at least try, already?"

"Calm down, Knuckles," Tails answered for Rouge. "All of that energy would have short-circuited Shadow's communicator almost instantly. Besides, they've got it under control." Knuckles looked over at his two-tailed friend, his body still bruised and burned, but a determined and confident gleam flickered in his eyes. He let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Sonic never fails. He always wins, you'll see." Amy piped up, a dreamy expression on her face. Cream sighed. It seemed that Amy had gotten over the effects of the nightmare, and was once again back to her Sonic-crazy normality. She held Cheese in her lap, patting his head absently. She looked over to the poor white hedgehog beside her, laying against the metallic leg of the robot, looking very still and completely drained.

"Is Silver going to be alright?" She wondered in concern. Tails looked over at him, rubbing his head thoughtfully.

"Don't worry, Cream. He just needs time to recover." In truth, Tails was very concerned about Silver's recovery. He had undergone extreme trauma, his energy being sapped out of him without mercy. But Tails also knew that he had proven himself to be very resilient and strong, and so he reassured himself that Silver would indeed recover, if not slowly.

"Sonic! Hey, look! They did it!" Amy suddenly cheered pointing up into the sky. Everyone looked up, sharing an exited cheer. The two glimmering hedgehogs flew slowly towards them, glowing brighter and brighter as they approached. Amy continued to cheer, and Tails and Cream gave each other a high five. Knuckles and Rouge just stood there, small smiles on there faces.

Sonic and Shadow touched down a good ways off, their bodies glow fading as they landed, returning to normal as the last of the chaos energy they had absorbed was finally spent. At first they did not pay any mind to their friends, who were cheering and waving in the distance. They merely stood there, the ordeal they had suffered in that last battle still lingering close at heart.

They looked over at each other, both having shared the extreme trauma of the nightmare ray, knowing just what the other had been through. But they had both decided not to dwell on it, even if had not completely disappeared yet, silently strengthening the other with their unwavering confidence.

Sonic finally looked up and noticed the others, who had stopped cheering and waving, standing there in the distance in concern. He took in a breath, letting it out slowly. "Well, that's that. We should join the others, see how Tails and Silver are doing," Shadow just stared off towards the group, but Sonic sensed that he had already gotten over his trauma and was back to his usual uncaring and annoyed self. He shrugged before speeding away, reaching the others in a second.

"Oh, Sonic, we were so worried about you," Amy cried, rushing up and giving him a hug, to which he squirmed and huffed before pushing her away as gently as he could. "What happened up there?"

"Yeah, you guys did take care of that robot, didn't you?" Knuckles asked, his arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently.

Sonic gave them a thumbs up. "Of course. We always do, after all." He turned slightly, punching Shadow in the arm, earning him a death glare. He walked over to Tails, feeling it unnecessary to explain in detail what had happened in space, and held up his fist. "How you doing, buddy?"

Tails' eyes gleamed as he completed the fist bump with his brother. "Doing great! I knew you could do it, Sonic!"

"Right back at you, bro! We couldn't have done it without you, you know?" Sonic and Tails shared another fist bump before Knuckles, Cream, and Amy decided to join them, casually discussing the days events.

Rouge rolled her eyes, feigning a look of disgust at the sappy scene. "This just keeps getting sicker and sicker. Too much sweetness for my taste." She side glanced over at Shadow, who was seemingly staring over at nothing. She felt briefly concerned, not knowing just what had happened up in space, if Shadow had been hit by the beam again or not. But after he "Hmphed" in agreement, she knew that he was back to his usual self. It was just his normal staring-off-into-space look again.

"What do you want to do now?" She asked him in that annoyingly playful tone of hers. "We've already saved the world once today. Should we do it again, or should we go find us some lovely jewels to steal?"

"IT'S NO USE!"

Everyone started at the sudden hysterical scream, jolting around to find a wide-eyed, confused white hedgehog sitting up and looking wildly around. Silver awoke to find himself sitting outside the robot, with a bunch of strangers surrounding him. He felt overly panicked, shaking as much from the weakness he felt as from the probable danger he was now in. He threw his hands up and squeezed his head tightly, feeling suddenly very dizzy and disoriented, barely able to breath. He couldn't think, he couldn't remember anything. All he could do was wait until this nauseating feeling cleared and he could figure out what was going on.

The lightheadedness slowly faded, and he stopped shaking so violently, still feeling very weak and almost unbearable drained of energy. His eyes snapped open again, but this time he was able to focus a little more, realizing that the group surrounding him was not exactly a bunch of strangers. They all stared at him concerned, but he couldn't help notice that they all looked at him as if he was crazy or something, rolling their eyes. He shook his head, blinking a couple of times.

"Wait, what? What's going on? What happened? Why are you guys here?" He whacked himself on the head with annoyed realization. "Now I remember. That's the last time I let that wise-guy trick me into anything!"

"You mean that Eggman guy? How _did_ you wind up as the power source for his robot anyway?" Sonic asked in a slightly amused way, as if he expected the answer to be kind of ridiculous.

Silver rubbed the back of his head, seemingly heisitating to answer the question. "Well, I, uh, see, I don't really think that's the important point here. It doesn't matter _how_ it happened, just so long as we won in the end, right?" Nothing but exasperated stares followed his explanation. "Besides, once I go back to the future, it'll be like it never happened, so I don't see a need to discuss this further." They all just sighed and shook their heads.

"Anyway, does anyone happen to have a Chaos Emerald on hand? Kind of need one to go back home." Silver stood slowly and shakily up, more than a little annoyed that no one had even asked if he was alright. He tried to stand but his legs gave way beneath him, and even the smallest exertion of energy he had used trying to stand made him feel faint. However, he did not hit the ground, Tails and Amy rushing to his aide, supporting him as he limply hung in their arms. "Thanks," he feebly managed as his head continued to spin.

"Easy Silver, just take it slow," Tails said gently. "Sonic, why don't you go see if one of the Chaos Emeralds is still in the robot. Maybe they didn't all teleport away this time." No sooner than he had said that, Sonic zipped away, and then appeared again in a split second holding a dimly glowing blue gem.

"Here, Silver," Sonic said holding the Emerald out to him. "Use this to recover some of your energy. You look a little drained, but you'll be ok in time." Silver blinked at him a couple of times, his head finally clearing.

"Thanks, I could use the pick-me-up." He took the blue gem, breathing deeply as he felt a wash of energy surge throughout his body, not enough to completely restore him, but enough to where he could think clearly again and not feel so weak.

"Hey, no problem. Just be more careful in the future, alright." Sonic snickered a little at his future joke, but he gave Silver a reassuring thumbs up that they all were concerned about Silver's well- being. Silver nodded, a small smile forming on his lips, but it quickly disappeared. He lowered his eyes, feeling guilty for all the trouble he had help cause.

"Look, everyone. I'm sorry about all of this. I mean, it wasn't really my fault or anything, but I still feel responsible for this mess. So thanks for the help."

"But, Silver, we couldn't have won without your help." Silver looked up, eying the little yellow fox with a tinge of uncertainty. How _had_ he helped? "If you hadn't used your power to bring me into the robot, we never would have been able to disarm the force field in time. All of us would be trapped in our own worst fears right now, if it hadn't of been for you." He smiled, giving Silver a big thumbs up.

"Yeah, nice job," Sonic agreed, clapping Silver on the back. "Keeping your focus, even when you were being tortured, to bring Tails into the robot was some pretty nice work." Silver just blinked for a moment before rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

"Yeah, well, thanks- Hey!" Silver looked down at his empty hand, the Chaos Emerald having been suddenly yanked out of it. He looked up to see Shadow smirking, the Emerald firmly grasped in his hand. "Hey, what gives, Shadow?"

"Enough already." Shadow huffed, irritation soaking his words. "The sooner you go back to your own time, the sooner we can go on with our lives. Do us all a favor and stay in your own timeline." He held the Chaos Emerald up, the white hedgehog glaring back at him, indignant, but his demeanor softened a little when he noticed a hint of a small on the black hedgehogs face, as if he to say that for all his threatening and unconcern, that he was glad Silver was ok and was heading home again. Rouge and Knuckles snickered at them.

"Chaos Control." A bright, flashing pulse emanated from the Emerald, and then a semi-transparent circular ring formed in front of them, a ripple running occasionally through it like a rock skipping on water. "Hurry up and go. This Emerald is almost out of energy, and it would take several days for it to charge up enough energy to send you back."

Silver sighed, taking the hint that Shadow did not like the idea of him hanging around any longer than he had to. "Fine, I'm going already, sheesh." He slowly approached the time portal, dragging his feet a little. This timeline was full of people that didn't like him. What did he do for crying out loud?

"See you later, Silver. Your future's going to be great again." Sonic gave him another thumbs up, and Amy, Tails, and Cream waved goodbye as he stepped through the portal, looking back with a grateful smile.

"Well, that's that." Rouge announced nonchalantly. She sauntered over closer to Shadow, eying the Chaos Emerald he held, her eyes gleaming. "Shall we go, Shadow? After we report back in to G.U.N., I know of a certain Master Emerald that is currently unguarded right now. We should drop by and make sure its still there." Shadow humphed, holding the blue gem up, looking like he was trying very hard not to whack himself in the face.

"Hey, wait a second here! Don't even think about it!" Knuckles yelled, shaking his fist as the smiling bat blew him a kiss before they teleported away. "Why that thieving bat! If she even sets one foot on Angel Island I'll-!" He continued to rant as he charged off towards his home, the others laughing at his expense.

Sonic stopped mid-laugh however, as Amy grabbed him and squeezed as tight as she possibly could. "Hey, take it easy, Amy! I can't breathe!"

"Come on, my darling Sonic! Now that we've saved the day together, you can finally take me out for ice cream!" Sonic squirmed until he eventually freed himself from her arms. "Yeah, um, well I have something else to do right now. But maybe later." He backed up as Amy marched towards him, obviously unconvinced.

"No way! Now is the perfect time!" Sonic looked over to Tails and Cream for help, but they shook there heads. Nobody could help him now.

"Later, Tails," Sonic said quickly before zooming away, leaving a furious pink hedgehog in his wake.

"Come back here, Sonic! You have to go out with me! I helped save the world with you!" Amy took off after him, screaming at him as she ran, determined to catch up and make him take her out.

Tails and Cream just sighed, things having gone back to normal. "You want to come back to my workshop and see my latest invention?" Tails asked with a big smile.

"Yes, that sounds like fun," Cream chirped, Cheese choaing in excitement. The little fox and little rabbit chatted merrily as they trotted towards the Mystic Ruins, leaving the day's nightmares and tragedy behind them.

It looked like everything was back to normal…At least until tomorrow anyway.

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!**


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